1
as in rebellious
given to resisting authority or another's control
refractory players will be ejected from the game
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stubborn
given to resisting control or discipline by others
believing that rules are only for other people, he's been refractory virtually his entire life
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of refractory
Marinus Pharmaceuticals said an experimental treatment for refractory status epilepticus failed to meet early stopping criteria for a Phase 3 study.
—
Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 15 Apr. 2024
All of the children had rare, relapsed or refractory cancers and were running out of treatment options.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Many of those patients were able to receive a potentially curative stem cell transplant later on, which is often the ultimate goal for patients with relapsed or refractory patients.
—Damian Garde, STAT, 13 Dec. 2023
Of these, the company said 10 million suffer from refractory chronic cough, 6 million of whom are based in the EU and the U.S., where there is no approved treatment.
—Robert Hart, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for refractory
Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 15 Apr. 2024
All of the children had rare, relapsed or refractory cancers and were running out of treatment options.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
Many of those patients were able to receive a potentially curative stem cell transplant later on, which is often the ultimate goal for patients with relapsed or refractory patients.
—Damian Garde, STAT, 13 Dec. 2023
Of these, the company said 10 million suffer from refractory chronic cough, 6 million of whom are based in the EU and the U.S., where there is no approved treatment.
—Robert Hart, Forbes, 18 Apr. 2023
See All Example Sentences for refractory
Recent Examples of Synonyms for refractory
Adjective
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Boon will play Eddie Harrigan, Kevin’s rebellious son.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
26 Feb. 2025
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In addition, parents who are too strict might even end up with kids who are extra rebellious.—
Taylor Grothe,
Parents,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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But four months after becoming the first Republican in two decades to win the popular vote, Trump faces a new reality of needing to tackle some of the most stubborn challenges awaiting any new president and deliver on his campaign promises to lower prices.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
The Mercury News,
4 Mar. 2025
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Like this Fire sign, Drizella is unapologetically stubborn and impatience, believing she is entitled to nothing but the best.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The attacks started this week after reports emerged that Assad loyalists had ambushed and killed members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – the rebel group that spearheaded the rebellion that ousted the former Syrian leader.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN,
9 Mar. 2025
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The singer and the songwriter traversed the frontlines of the urban guerrilla war that had consumed the city of Homs by that point, with one half of the city overtaken by regime soldiers and the other half controlled by rebel groups.—
Jawad Rizkallah,
NPR,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Or does so only briefly in the ambiguous ending, when Sofia throws off the last vestiges of her passivity and forces her recalcitrant mother into a reckoning with her condition.—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
14 Feb. 2025
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In an interview from a factory floor in El Salvador on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that foreign aid spending does not support U.S. aims and that USAID, the main conduit for foreign assistance, has been recalcitrant.—
ByCatherine Offord,
science.org,
5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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President Donald Trump took a defiant victory lap in the House chamber on Tuesday night, using his address to a joint session of Congress to promote the flurry of drastic changes to domestic and foreign policy that his administration has made in just the first six weeks.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Mar. 2025
-
Trump, in a defiant victory lap speech lasting roughly 100 minutes, credited his predecessor for high inflation and vowed to bring down the costs of everyday goods while previewing further economic pain from new tariffs.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
5 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Climate change will create intractable problems for some countries and open new opportunities for others, encouraging a race for territory.—
Michael Albertus,
Foreign Affairs,
4 Mar. 2025
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What’s more, Asian elephants are highly social, highly intelligent, and endangered, raising intractable ethical obstacles to experimenting on them.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The most dramatic case study occurred this week, when Trump signed two executive orders instituting a tariff regime on goods entering the United States from Canada and Mexico in response to what the White House argues is an uncontrollable scourge of migrants and drugs coming from those countries.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2025
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These high winds, combined with low humidity, have created a significant fire weather risk, with forecasters warning that any ignition could lead to fast-growing, uncontrollable fires.—
Hannah Parry,
Newsweek,
7 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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One in three Americans report carrying unmanageable levels of debt in 2024, according to a recent study from the Financial Health Network.—
Sacramento Bee,
Sacramento Bee,
26 Feb. 2025
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Without this foundation, systems and processes will fail—and the resulting manual, frustrating work will become unmanageable.—
Rana Robillard,
Forbes,
21 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Refractory.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/refractory. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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