refractory

C2+ Topic:Health & Medicine

US /rɪˈfræktəri/ UK /rɪˈfræktəri/ See IPA manual

adj noun

Meanings

1

adj
stubbornly resistant to control or treatment

The refractory pupil ignored every instruction.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · stubbornly resistant to... stubborn obstinate intractable unmanageable recalcitrant obdurate unruly

Opposites

docile tractable compliant obedient amenable

Word family

Derived forms refractorilyrefractoriness

Related forms refract refraction fracture fraction

Etymology

From Latin refractarius ('stubborn, obstinate'), from refringere ('to break up, break back'), from re- ('back') + frangere ('to break').

re- Latin refringere Latin frangere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Health & Medicine Word Formation & Derivatives

# refractory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, noun
**IPA (US):** rɪˈfræktəri
**IPA (UK):** rɪˈfræktəri

## Meanings
1. stubbornly resistant to control or treatment

## Examples
- The refractory pupil ignored every instruction.

## Synonyms
- stubborn
- obstinate
- intractable
- unmanageable
- recalcitrant
- obdurate
- unruly

## Antonyms
- docile
- tractable
- compliant
- obedient
- amenable

## Derived Forms
- refractorily
- refractoriness

## Related Forms
- refract
- refraction
- fracture
- fraction

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: re-
- Root: refringere
- Root: frangere

## Etymology
From Latin refractarius ('stubborn, obstinate'), from refringere ('to break up, break back'), from re- ('back') + frangere ('to break').

## AI Etymology
Refractory comes from Latin refractarius ('stubborn, obstinate'), from refringere ('to break up, break back'), from re- ('back') + frangere ('to break'). The historical chain includes Latin re-, Latin refringere, and Latin frangere. The quoted older senses, "stubborn, obstinate", "to break up, break back", "back", and "to break", supply the semantic anchors for refractory. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word refractory carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "stubbornly resistant to control or treatment". English derivatives include refractorily and refractoriness; related English forms include refract, refraction, fracture, and fraction. The result is a adj and noun whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Health & Medicine
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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refractory

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