| a. | 1. | Obstinate in disobedience; contumacious; stubborn; unmanageable; |
| 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; | |
| n. | 1. | A refractory person. |
| 2. | Refractoriness. | |
| 3. | OPottery) A piece of ware covered with a vaporable flux and placed in a kiln, to communicate a glaze to the other articles. |
| Noun | 1. | refractory - lining consisting of material with a high melting point; used to line the inside walls of a furnace Synonyms: furnace lining |
| Adj. | 1. | refractory - resistant to authority or control; "as refractory as a mule" |
| 2. | refractory - not responding to treatment; "a stubborn infection"; "a refractory case of acne" Synonyms: stubborn | |
| 3. | refractory - marked by stubborn resistance to and defiant of authority or guidance; "a recalcitrant teenager"; "everything revolves around a refractory individual genius" Synonyms: recalcitrant | |
| 4. | refractory - stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a refractory child" Synonyms: fractious |