restive
RES-tivadjMeaning restless and hard to control
Memory hook REST-ive? NO REST at all. Told to wait at the gate, the young horse stamps, snorts and tosses its head; it is anything but restful. It is restive.
The restive horse stamped and tossed its head at the starting gate.
In context After two hours of waiting in the heat with no explanation, the crowd grew restive, shouting and pushing toward the locked gates.
Similar restless, fidgety, unruly, impatient
Opposite calm, docile, patient
From Anglo-French restif, “balky, refusing to move,” from rester (to stay, to resist).