Found 2 items, similar to refractory.
English → English (WordNet) Definition: refractory refractory n : lining consisting of material with a high melting point; used to line the inside walls of a furnace [syn: furnace lining ] 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]
English → English (gcide) Definition: Refractory 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] 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]