How to Use obstreperous in a Sentence

obstreperous

adjective
  • Chang’s wry, obstreperous ghosts are porous, leaky beings; everyone gets very wet.
    — Nell Stevens, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2022
  • And anyway, subverting an election is hardly the act of an obstreperous child.
    — Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Stuff like making sure the site doesn't crash, and coaxing obstreperous commenters into better behavior?
    — Sean Carroll, Discover Magazine, 26 June 2012
  • Lifting weights is nothing compared to wrestling those obstreperous facial muscles during a meeting.
    — Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2021
  • There is nothing more unfair to the board and the attending owners than when one or more owners hijack a meeting with obstreperous behavior.
    — Kelly G. Richardson, Orange County Register, 25 Jan. 2017
  • There is nothing more unfair to the board and the attending owners than when one or more owners hijack a meeting with obstreperous behavior.
    — Kelly G. Richardson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 July 2022
  • Herein are strategies Trump’s handlers have already used to appease, distract, and cajole their obstreperous charge.
    — Katy Waldman, Slate Magazine, 18 May 2017
  • And only DeMichelle’s Marguerite has the necessary command to bring this obstreperous monarch to heel.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
  • Implicit in obstreperous is the idea that the control is justified and the threat minimal – its tone is patronizing.
    — Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2021
  • In fact, of course, refusing to seat the obstreperous loudmouth Jordan, in particular, has been a saving grace.
    — Margaret Sullivan, Washington Post, 6 July 2022
  • The United States is a big country, full of obstreperous citizens who claim, or would like to claim, a broad array of rights that can’t all be recognized.
    — Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 24 May 2021
  • Both have a knack for navigating India’s obstreperous courts and bureaucracy.
    — The Economist, 27 Mar. 2021
  • The bluesman, perhaps seeing the desperation in the young promoter’s face, or maybe just obstreperous after having one too many, demanded payment.
    — oregonlive, 11 June 2020
  • The Sun has become increasingly obstreperous lately, and the results here on Earth have been nothing short of dazzling – but also disruptive.
    — Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 20 Dec. 2023
  • Investigative journalists have long met with obstreperous and sometimes threatening subjects.
    — James Rainey and Brittny Mejia, Anchorage Daily News, 11 Sep. 2022
  • Investigative journalists have long met with obstreperous and sometimes threatening subjects.
    — James Rainey, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022
  • Prepare to see Republicans get a lot quieter and more cooperative, and the obstreperous forces on the left to get angrier and more intransigent.
    — Megan McArdle, The Denver Post, 4 Apr. 2017
  • While the trial court’s frustration with an obstreperous defendant is understandable, the judge’s disproportionate response is not.
    — Ashley May, USA TODAY, 7 Mar. 2018
  • While the trial court's frustration with an obstreperous defendant is understandable, the judge's disproportionate response is not.
    — CBS News, 8 Mar. 2018
  • Next, the president should direct the Department of Justice to stop its obstreperous Olmstead litigation.
    — John Hirschauer, National Review, 6 Aug. 2019
  • Numerous leaks in recent days claim the President is at odds with most of his senior team, allegedly deliberately countermanding their best advice like an obstreperous toddler.
    — Kate Maltby, CNN, 5 June 2017
  • Denise Fasanello, a New York florist, interprets topiary even more loosely, winding button ferns or creeping fig around a round, metal armature to create a leafy, obstreperous ball.
    — Cynthia Kling, WSJ, 12 Oct. 2018
  • Ryan faces a serious mutiny on his right flank, which the president* complicated on Wednesday by offering a sweetener to obstreperous congressional conservatives.
    — Charles P. Pierce, Esquire, 9 Mar. 2017
  • Teddy Roosevelt never did, and carried on blithely bully-pulpiting, to ebulliently divisive and obstreperous effect, for a decade after leaving the White House.
    — Jeet Heer, New Republic, 13 Sep. 2017
  • The Boston Tea Party also symbolizes something obstreperous in the American character.
    — The Editors, National Review, 16 Dec. 2023
  • And when intelligence confirms that one of their vessels is engaged in armed smuggling operations, the president need not convene an obstreperous congressional committee before acting in such a manner to defend the American people.
    — Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
  • The elder Prescott hopes Teddy will soak up some practical business experience, but Ruthie offers his services to the Parlonis, obstreperous retirees whose personal assistants seem to come and go through a revolving door.
    — Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2021
  • Making clear that any future conflict would end with the reunification of the entire peninsula under the South’s authority should increase the North’s restraint, as well as reinforce China’s efforts to rein in its obstreperous ally.
    — Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs, 3 Apr. 2013

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obstreperous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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