Refractory

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
        [1913 Webster]
  


              Raging appetites that are
              Most disobedient and refractory.      --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Syn: Perverse; contumacious; unruly; stubborn; obstinate;
          unyielding; ungovernable; unmanageable.
          [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Refractory \Re*frac"to*ry\, n.
     1. A refractory person. --Bp. Hall.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Refractoriness. [Obs.] --Jer. TAylor.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  refractory
       adj 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}]
       n : lining consisting of material with a high melting point;
           used to line the inside walls of a furnace [syn: {furnace
           lining}]

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