oppositional.

Inclined to resist or challenge authority, demands, or expectations.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• oppositional stance
• oppositional behavior

On the page

His oppositional stance hardened when the rules were imposed without discussion.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / human behavior. Forms: Comparative more oppositional; superlative most oppositional when comparison is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: character, behavior. Commonness: moderately common.