WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Re*frac"to*ry (-r)
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [L. refractorius, fr. refringere: cf. F. refractaire. See Refract.]
Definition : 1. Obstinate in disobedience; contumacious; stubborn; unmanageable; as, a refractory child; a refractory beast. Raging appetites that are Most disobedient and refractory. Shak.

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.

Syn. -- Perverse; contumacious; unruly; stubborn; obstinate; unyielding; ungovernable; unmanageable.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913

Pronunciation : Re*frac"to*ry
Part of Speech : n.
Definition : 1. A refractory person. Bp. Hall.

2. Refractoriness. [Obs.] Jer. TAylor.

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.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913