contrary or perverse; twisted or misshapen. 2014, BBC Scotland political reporting, quoting former first minister Henry McLeish: "There is an old Scottish word - thrawn - which essentially means the more you tell people they can't do something, the more they are likely to say 'I might want to do it'."

( th·raw·n) Dialect, chiefly Scot. ~adj. 1. twisted; distorted or misshapen. 2. stubborn or obstinate (often in “ Jeez O, yer a thrawn auld bugger! “). 3. to be cross; in a dour or sullen mood.

Thrawn adj. twisted, crooked, distorted; (of people) obstinate, intractable, etc. Thrawn is frequently used with reference to stubbornness and absolute conviction. A recent article in Scotland on Sunday described the Scottish Borders as having a "thrawn sense of self". Another, in the Scotsman, proclaimed Calum's Road on Raasay a symbol of "thrawn determination".