Re-nī'tence or Re-nī'ten-cy, n.

n. [Fr. rénitence, Sp. renitencia, It. renitenza. See infra.] The state of being renitent; resistance; reluctance.

We find a tendency in ourselves to ascribe life and irritability to the cold and motionless fibers of plants. Darwin.

It is a singular blessing that nature hath formed the mind of man with the same happy backwardness and renitency against conviction which is observed in old dogs, “of not learning new tricks.” Sterne.