I. rə̇ˈfrakt(ə)rē, rēˈf-, -)ri adjective
Etymology: alteration (influenced by -ory ) of refractary
1. : resisting control or authority : stubborn , unmanageable , perverse
to persuade her refractory daughter to agree to the propriety of what she was going to do — Anthony Trollope
bold attempts to reduce refractory material to poetic treatment — F.B.Millett
the boy was solitary and refractory to all education save that of wide and desultory reading — F.J.Mather
2.
a. : resistant to treatment or cure
a refractory fulminating lesion
b. : unresponsive to stimulus
the refractory period of a muscle fiber
c. : resistant or not responding to an infectious agent : immune , insusceptible
after recovery the animals were completely refractory to reinfection
3. : resisting treatment under ordinary or various extraordinary conditions : difficult to fuse, corrode, reduce, or draw out
refractory ore
refractory metals
especially : capable of enduring or resisting high temperature
refractory clays
refractory brick
refractory mortar
Synonyms: see unruly
II. noun
( -es )
1. obsolete : a refractory person
2. : a refractory material: as
a. : any of various nonmetallic ceramic substances that are characterized especially by their suitability for use as structural materials at high temperatures usually in contact with metals, slags, glass, or other corrosive materials (as in furnaces, crucibles, or saggers), that are classified chemically as acid (as silica and fireclay), basic (as magnesite and dolomite), or neutral (as high-alumina refractories, carbon, and silicon carbide), and that are produced in the form of brick and other shapes, finely ground cementing materials, castable concretes, plastics, and granular materials in bulk
b. : a substance resistant to corrosion by chemical agents and used especially in chemical plants and laboratories