1. (a.) Obstinate in disobedience; stubborn; unmanageable; as, a refractory child; a refractory beast.
2. (a.) 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.
3. (n.) A refractory person.
4. (n.) Refractoriness.
5. (n.) (Pottery) A piece of ware covered with a vaporable flux and placed in a kiln, to communicate a glaze to the other articles.
Thesaurus Entries
adversary, adversative, adverse, alien, antagonistic, anti, antipathetic, antithetic, at odds, averse, beyond control, breachy, bullheaded, china, clashing, clay, competitive, complaining, con, conflicting, contradictory, contrary, contumacious, counter, cross, cursory, defiant, deviant, differing, disaccordant, disagreeing, disinclined, disobedient, disputatious, disputing, dissentient, dissenting, dissident, enamel, enemy, forced, fractious, headstrong, hostile, impatient of control, incorrigible, indisposed, indocile, indomitable, inimical, insuppressible, intractable, involuntary, irrepressible, mulish, mutinous, negative, nonconformable, nonconforming, noncooperative, nonobservant, objecting, obstinate, obstreperous, obstructive, on the barricades, opponent, opposed, opposing, opposite, oppositional, oppositive, oppugnant, ornery, out of hand, overthwart, perfunctory, perverse, porcelain, proof against, protesting, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, reluctant, renitent, repellent, repugnant, resistant, resisting, resistive, restive, retardant, retardative, rival, self-willed, shrewish, stiff-necked, stubborn, sulky, sullen, unadaptable, unadjustable, unbiddable, uncompliant, unconforming, unconsenting, uncontrollable, uncooperative, unfavorable, unfriendly, ungovernable, unmalleable, unmanageable, unmoldable, unpropitious, unruly, unsubmissive, unwilling, unyielding, up in arms, wild, withstanding
