 4 definitions found
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
refractory
adjective
1: resistant to authority or control; "as refractory as a mule"
2: not responding to treatment; "a stubborn infection"; "a
refractory case of acne" [syn: {stubborn}]
3: marked by stubborn resistance to and defiant of authority or
guidance; "a recalcitrant teenager"; "everything revolves
around a refractory individual genius" [syn: {recalcitrant}]
4: stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious
animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a
refractory child" [syn: {fractious}]
noun: lining consisting of material with a high melting point;
used to line the inside walls of a furnace [syn: {furnace
lining}]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Refractory \Re*frac"to*ry\ (-r?), adjective [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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Refractory \Re*frac"to*ry\, noun
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.
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
123 Moby Thesaurus words for "refractory":
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
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