refractory : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: refractory	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for refractory
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
refractory adj not responding to treatment; "a stubborn infection"; "a refractory case of acne"; "stubborn rust stains" Synonym(s): refractory, stubborn temporarily unresponsive or not fully responsive to nervous or sexual stimuli; "the refractory period of a muscle fiber" stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a refractory child" Synonym(s): fractious, refractory, recalcitrant n lining consisting of material with a high melting point; used to line the inside walls of a furnace Synonym(s): furnace lining, refractory
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Refractory \Refrac"tory\ (-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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Refractory \Refrac"tory\, 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.