— refractorily , adv. — refractoriness , n.
/ri frak"teuh ree/ , adj., n., pl. refractories .
adj.
1. hard or impossible to manage; stubbornly disobedient: a refractory child.
2. resisting ordinary methods of treatment.
3. difficult to fuse, reduce, or work, as an ore or metal.
n.
4. a material having the ability to retain its physical shape and chemical identity when subjected to high temperatures.
5. refractories , bricks of various shapes used in lining furnaces.
[ 1600-10; var. of refractary (by analogy with adjectives in -ORY 1 ) refractarius stubborn, obstinate, equiv. to refract ( us ) (see REFRACT) + -arius -ARY ]
Syn. 1. obstinate, perverse, mulish, headstrong, intractable, disobedient, recalcitrant, ungovernable. See unruly .
Ant. 1. obedient, tractable.