Adjacent Words

Refractory definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

REFRACT'ORY, a. [L. refractarius, from refragor, to resist; re and fragor, from frango.]
1. Sullen or perverse in opposition or disobedience; obstinate in non-compliance; as a refractory child; a refractory servant.
Raging appetites that are most disobedient and refractory.
2. Unmanageable; obstinately unyielding; as a refractory beast.
3. Applied to metals, difficult of fusion; not easily yielding to the force of heat.
REFRACT'ORY, n.
1. A person obstinate in opposition or disobedience.
2. Obstinate opposition. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not responding to treatment; "a stubborn infection"; "a refractory case of acne"; "stubborn rust stains" [syn: refractory, stubborn]
2: temporarily unresponsive or not fully responsive to nervous or sexual stimuli; "the refractory period of a muscle fiber"
3: stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a refractory child" [syn: fractious, refractory, recalcitrant] n
1: lining consisting of material with a high melting point; used to line the inside walls of a furnace [syn: furnace lining, refractory]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: alteration of refractary, from Latin refractarius, irregular from refragari to oppose, from re- + -fragari (as in suffragari to support with one's vote) Date: 1606 1. resisting control or authority ; stubborn, unmanageable 2. a. resistant to treatment or cure <a refractory lesion> b. unresponsive to stimulus c. immune, insusceptible <after recovery they were refractory to infection> 3. difficult to fuse, corrode, or draw out; especially capable of enduring high temperature Synonyms: see unruly • refractorily adverb • refractoriness noun II. noun (plural -ries) Date: 1627 a refractory person or thing; especially a heat-resisting ceramic material

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 stubborn, unmanageable, rebellious. 2 a (of a wound, disease, etc.) not yielding to treatment. b (of a person etc.) resistant to infection. 3 (of a substance) hard to fuse or work. --n. (pl. -ies) a substance especially resistant to heat, corrosion, etc. Derivatives: refractorily adv. refractoriness n. Etymology: alt. of obs. refractary f. L refractarius (as REFRACT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Refractory Re*frac"to*ry, n. 1. A refractory person. --Bp. Hall. 2. Refractoriness. [Obs.] --Jer. TAylor. 3. OPottery) A piece of ware covered with a vaporable flux and placed in a kiln, to communicate a glaze to the other articles. --Knight.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Refractory Re*frac"to*ry (-r?), a. [L. refractorius, fr. refringere: cf. F. refractaire. See Refract.] 1. Obstinate in disobedience; contumacious; stubborn; unmanageable; as, a refractory child; a refractory beast. Raging appetites that are Most disobedient and refractory. --Shak. 2. Resisting ordinary treatment; difficult of fusion, reduction, or the like; -- said especially of metals and the like, which do not readily yield to heat, or to the hammer; as, a refractory ore. Syn: Perverse; contumacious; unruly; stubborn; obstinate; unyielding; ungovernable; unmanageable.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Refractory people are difficult to deal with or control, for example because they are unwilling to obey orders. (FORMAL) ...refractory priests who refused to side with the king. = recalcitrant ADJ: usu ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Stubborn, obstinate, stiff, perverse, dogged, mulish, heady, headstrong, cross-grained, intractable, unyielding, contumacious, disobedient, unruly, ungovernable, cantankerous, unmanageable, recalcitrant.

Moby Thesaurus

adversary, adversative, adverse, alien, antagonistic, anti, antipathetic, antithetic, at odds, averse, beyond control, breachy, bullheaded, china, clashing, clay, competitive, complaining, con, conflicting, contradictory, contrary, contumacious, counter, cross, cursory, defiant, deviant, differing, disaccordant, disagreeing, disinclined, disobedient, disputatious, disputing, dissentient, dissenting, dissident, enamel, enemy, forced, fractious, headstrong, hostile, impatient of control, incorrigible, indisposed, indocile, indomitable, inimical, insuppressible, intractable, involuntary, irrepressible, mulish, mutinous, negative, nonconformable, nonconforming, noncooperative, nonobservant, objecting, obstinate, obstreperous, obstructive, on the barricades, opponent, opposed, opposing, opposite, oppositional, oppositive, oppugnant, ornery, out of hand, overthwart, perfunctory, perverse, porcelain, proof against, protesting, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, reluctant, renitent, repellent, repugnant, resistant, resisting, resistive, restive, retardant, retardative, rival, self-willed, shrewish, stiff-necked, stubborn, sulky, sullen, unadaptable, unadjustable, unbiddable, uncompliant, unconforming, unconsenting, uncontrollable, uncooperative, unfavorable, unfriendly, ungovernable, unmalleable, unmanageable, unmoldable, unpropitious, unruly, unsubmissive, unwilling, unyielding, up in arms, wild, withstanding