Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Renitent

Renitent (-tent) , adjective

[Latin renitens, -entis, present participle of renit to strive or struggle against, resist; pref. re- re- + niti to struggle or strive: compare French rénitent.]

1.
Resisting pressure or the effect of it; acting against impulse by elastic force.
[Muscles] soft and yet renitent. — Ray
2.
Persistently opposed.