Progression

refractory (ri-FRAK-tuhr-ree) adjective

1. Hard to manage; stubborn.

2. Resistant to usual methods or treatment.

3. Difficult to fuse: resistant to high temperature.

noun

A heat-resistant material.

[From alteration of refractary, from Latin refractarius (stubborn), from refractus, past participle of refringere (to break up), from re- + frangere (to break).]

Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=refractory

"There is nothing so awful - whether a week's-worth of rain, a marital quarrel, a refractory child - that it cannot be resolved in the kitchen."
Keith Botsford; Season of Soups and Mellow Vegetableness; The Independent (London, UK); Nov 6, 1993.

"Though the Nobel laureate (William Faulkner) could often be indulgent with children, he was essentially a withdrawn and refractory man."
Michael Dirda; Mississippi in the Summer!; The Washington Post; Aug 11, 2002.

This week's theme: words to describe people.

Permalink:
http://wordsmith.org/words/refractory.html

Posted by Keya at March 25, 2005 06:15 PM