1. (

• fractious ,
• refractory ,
• recalcitrant

) stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a refractory child" ;

2. (

• cranky ,
• fractious ,
• irritable ,
• nettlesome ,
• peevish ,
• peckish ,
• pettish ,
• petulant ,
• scratchy ,
• testy ,
• tetchy ,
• techy

) easily irritated or annoyed; "an incorrigibly fractious young man"; "not the least nettlesome of his countrymen" ;

3. (

• fractious

) unpredictably difficult in operation; likely to be troublesome; "rockets were much too fractious to be tested near thickly populated areas"; "fractious components of a communication system" ;