refractory Hear it!

refractory Definition

re·frac·tory (ri frak′tər ē)

adjective

  1. hard to manage; stubborn; obstinate: said of a person or animal
  2. resistant to heat; hard to melt or work: said of ores or metals
    1. not yielding to treatment, as a disease
    2. able to resist disease

Etymology: altered < obs. refractary < L refractarius < refractus: see refract

noun pl. -·ries

something refractory; specif., a heat-resistant material used in lining furnaces, etc.

  • refracture

refractory Related Forms

re·frac′·to·rily adverb re·frac′·to·ri·ness noun

refractory Synonyms

refractory

modif.

  1. Stubborn

    obstinate, headstrong, willful, disobedient; see contrary 4, naughty, obstinate.

  2. Inflexible

    hard, impliable, rigid; see firm 2, stiff 1.

refractory Usage Examples

Converse of object

fuse: This will allow RHI to supply the complete range of fused cast refractories, especially to the container and special glass industries.

Modifies a noun

  • epilepsy: The US license is for refractory partial epilepsy over the age of 12.
  • epilepticus: UK-wide survey of refractory convulsive status epilepticus in children Most seizures end naturally after just a few seconds or minutes.
  • myeloma: Thalidomide should be included in the therapeutic options for refractory myeloma.
  • angina: Dr. Mike Norell Refractory angina: what is the value of laser revascularisation?
  • seizure: Trials usually recruit patients with drug refractory partial seizures.
  • anemia: This form of MDS is called " refractory anemia with excess blasts " or RAEB.

Modifying Another Word

  • highly: This efficacy was demonstrated in a group of epileptic patients with long-standing, highly refractory seizures despite many trials of medication.
  • medically: This paper evaluated which patients with evidence of medically refractory bitemporal epilepsy were potentially good candidates for surgical intervention.

Used with adjective complement

  • become: Furthermore, a number of patients never develop HLA antibodies nor do they become refractory, despite receiving multiple platelet transfusions.
  • prove: Johnnie Moozie In one instance a woman was the unfortunate offender with whom he had to deal, and she proved rather refractory.
  • remain: For people with intellectual disability multiple seizure types are common and up to three-quarters of patients remain refractory to treatment.