Recusant

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun One who refuses communion with the Church of England; a nonconformist.

II. Recusant ·noun One who is obstinate in refusal; one standing out stubbornly against general practice or opinion.

III. Recusant ·noun A person who refuses to acknowledge the supremacy of the king in matters of religion; as, a Roman Catholic recusant, who acknowledges the supremacy of the pope.

IV. Recusant ·adj Obstinate in refusal; specifically, in English history, refusing to acknowledge the supremacy of the king in the churc, or to conform to the established rites of the church; as, a recusant lord.