Definition of "recusant" in English

noun

1. (historical) Someone refusing to attend Church of England services, between the 16th and early 19th centuries, whether a Protestant dissident or a Roman Catholic.

   • Near-synonyms: (all sometimes synonymous) Dissenter, Nonconformist, Free Churchman; autem cackler (archaic cant)

2. Anyone refusing to submit to authority or regulation.

   • Near-synonyms: refuser, defier, dissenter, objector, protester, iconoclast, maverick, nonconformist, rebel, refusenik, renegade

adjective

1. pertaining to a recusant or to recusancy