| 释义 |
refractory, a. and n.|rɪˈfræktərɪ|
Also 7 -urie.
[var. refractary, on anal. of adjs. in -ory2.
‘It is now accented on the first syllable, but by Shakespeare on the second’ Johnson (1755): cf. mod. dial. ˈrefertory, ˈrefatory, and see the note to refractary.]
A. adj.
1. Stubborn, obstinate, perverse; unmanageable, rebellious.
a. of persons.
1613R. Cawdrey Table Alph. (ed. 3), Refractorie, Stubborne, which will not bend. 1646Bp. Maxwell Burd. Issach. 19 If He be obstinately refractorie, He is not worthy to hold His Crowne. 1699Burnet 39 Art. xxxiii. (1700) 368 There is no other way of proceeding but by cutting off those who are so refractory. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. ii, They were a parcel of refractory, ungovernable villains. 1769Junius Lett. i. (1788) 34 The most refractory of the colonies were still disposed to proceed by..constitutional methods. 1818Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. iv. 436 The honour of his government was concerned in chastising a refractory dependant. 1859J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) III. v. iii. 455 The old Roman law..gave to the father the power even of life and death over his refractory offspring.
absol.1685Baxter Paraphr. N.T., Matt. x. 11 More worthy, (or less unworthy) than the refractory. 1772Johnson in Boswell (Argt. for Hastie), The refractory must be subdued by harsher methods. 1847Prescott Peru (1850) II. 343 The refractory were ejected..from their offices.
b. of character, disposition, actions, etc.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. ii. ii. 182 To curbe those raging appetites that are Most disobedient and refracturie. a1653Binning Serm. (1845) 558 There are different tempers of mind among men, some more smooth and pliable, others more refractory and froward. 1720Welton Suffer. Son of God I. vii. 130 All those Refractory Dispositions that were Opposites to the Love, and to the Law of God. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. iii. 148 A Midshipman..had appeared the foremost in all the refractory proceedings of the crew. 1777Watson Philip II, xiv. (1839) 313 The factious and refractory spirit of the Walloons and Flemings. 1836J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. ix. (1852) 278 The thoughts and feelings may have still their refractory range.
†2.
a. Strongly opposed, not amenable, refusing compliance, to something. Obs. (freq. in 17th c.)
1617Moryson Itin. ii. 299 The Citizens of Mounster..were now growne most refractory to all due obedience. 1671Shadwell Humourists iii, I can no longer be refractory to your honourable Desires. 1723Pres. St. Russia I. Pref. 2 A People formerly..so refractory to all Culture.
b. Undesirous of something. Obs. rare—1.
c1610Sir J. Melvil Mem. (1735) 174 He seemed some⁓what refractory of accepting the Government.
3. Med.
a. Of wounds, diseases, and the like: Obstinate, not yielding to treatment.
1663Boyle Usef. Exp. Nat. Philos. ii. v. xix. 290 Stubborn Diseases that had been found refractory to all ordinary Remedies. 1836–9Todd Cycl. Anat. II. 515/2 The wound was at first refractory.
b. Able to offer resistance to a disease; not susceptible to morbid agencies.
1884Science III. 744/1 A dog..being rendered refractory to rabies by hypodermic inoculation. 1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 591 It is conceivable that with a weak virus in a strongly ‘refractory’ individual, the appearance of erysipelas might be delayed.
4. Resisting the action of heat; difficult to fuse (or work in any way).
1758Reid tr. Macquer's Chym. I. 359 All Iron ores in general are refractory, and less fusible than any other. 1777Priestley On Air III. 21 The earth of tin is the most refractory, little differing..from flint, the most refractory of all the earths. 1833N. Arnott Physics (ed. 5) II. 151 His blow-pipe fed with mixed oxygen and hydrogen, whose flame is capable of melting the most refractory substances. 1871B. Stewart Heat (ed. 2) §109 The most refractory substances, such as carbon, can be made to appear as gases.
fig.1836Emerson Nature, Idealism Wks. (Bohn) II. 161 To him [the poet] the refractory world is ductile and flexible. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. iii. 140 Where the products of the external world have been refractory [etc.].
5. Physiol. Temporarily unresponsive or not fully responsive to nervous or sexual stimuli; esp. in refractory period, a period of reduced responsiveness following a response to such a stimulus.
1879–80Jrnl. Physiol. II. 400 The same absence of response was observed whenever the second excitation occurred ‘during the commencement of the systole of the ventricle’ (termed by Marey the ‘refractory period’). 1900J. S. Burdon-Sanderson in E. A. Schäfer Text-bk. Physiol. II. 449 This rhythmicality is attributed to the liability of the heart to be ‘refractory’ for a certain period after each excitation. 1937L. V. Heilbrunn Outl. Gen. Physiol. xxxvi. 415 In skeletal muscle, the refractory period is much shorter than in cardiac muscle. 1950Nature 16 Dec. 1034/2 During this time, experimental birds are ‘refractory’—they cannot be forced into spermatogenesis by means of photostimulation. 1952Jrnl. Physiol. CXVII. 534 After the earliest stimulus the membrane potential falls again with hardly a sign of activity, and the membrane can be said to be in the ‘absolute refractory period’. The later stimuli produce action potentials of increasing amplitude, but still smaller than the control; these are in the ‘relative refractory period’. 1967J. L. McCary Human Sexuality xi. 176 After orgasm, the man enters the refractory period..; the sexual stimulation that was previously effective and pleasurable now becomes unavailing and distasteful. Women, on the other hand, usually do not go into a refractory period. 1971M. B. V. Roberts Biol. xviii. 268 The importance of the refractory period is that, together with transmission speed, it determines the frequency at which an axon can transmit impulses. 1972Nature 18 Feb. 366/1 A substance from the male accessory glands..rendered the female permanently refractory to further insemination. 1974P. Svendsen Introd. Animal Physiol. xi. 119 The very long action potential and refractory period in cardiac muscle are of great importance. They ensure that..two successive contractions cannot add together without a period of relaxation between them.
B. n.
†1. A refractory person. Obs.
1627Abp. Abbot in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1659) I. 442 My Reply was, By what then doth he coerce those Refractories? 1633T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter ii. 5 Like a bladder, which the peevish refractory puts under his arm. 1860Dickens Uncomm. Trav. in All Year Round II. 394/1 The Refractories were picking oakum... The oldest Refractory was, say twenty; youngest Refractory, say sixteen.
2. A piece of refractory ware employed in the process of glazing pottery. More widely, any refractory material.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 1019 Occasionally also a very fusible composition is thrown upon the inner surface of the muffle, and 5 or 6 pieces called refractories are set in the middle of it. 1875Knight Dict. Mech. 1910/1. 1907 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. LXXIII. 384 The plant, which has only recently been laid down by the American Refractories Company at Joliet, represents the first successful attempt at manufacturing refractory materials in the west of America. 1931Daily Express 15 Oct. 14/1 For many months manufacturers of refractories have had to struggle against the dumping of large quantities of Belgian sand. 1957New Scientist 9 May 44/1 It was inevitable that factories making fire-bricks—the original refractory—should spring up alongside iron- and steel-works. 1962Science Survey III. 344 The tundish that evens out the flow between the ladle and mould is usually a simple refractory-lined box. 1967M. Chandler Ceramics in Mod. World v. 140 A high proportion of refractories must serve also as structural materials. |