Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Restive \Rest"ive\ (r?st"?v), a. [OF. restif, F. r['e]tif, fr.
   L. restare to stay back, withstand, resist. See {Rest}
   remainder, and cf. {Restiff}.] .
   Unwilling to go on; obstinate in refusing to move forward;
   stubborn; drawing back.

         Restive or resty, drawing back, instead of going
         forward, as some horses do.              --E. Philips
                                                  (1658).

         The people remarked with awe and wonder that the beasts
         which were to drag him [Abraham Holmes] to the gallows
         became restive, and went back.           --Macaulay.

   2. Inactive; sluggish. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne.

   3. Impatient under coercion, chastisement, or opposition;
      refractory.

   4. Uneasy; restless; averse to standing still; fidgeting
      about; -- applied especially to horses. --Trench. --
      {Rest"ive}, adv. -- {Rest"ive*ness}, n.

Source : WordNet®

restiveness
     n 1: the anxious feeling you have when you have the jitters [syn:
           {jitteriness}, {jumpiness}, {nervousness}]
     2: characterized by nervousness and quickness to take fright
        [syn: {skittishness}]