formal resisting control or authority; stubborn or unmanageable
If I were attentive, I was called fawning, if refractory, an obstinate mule — Mary Wollstonecraft
resistant to treatment or cure
a refractory cough
difficult to fuse, corrode, or draw out; esp capable of enduring high temperatures
refractory metals
refractorily adv
refractoriness noun
[alteration of refractary from Latin refractarius, from refragari to oppose, from re- + -fragari as in suffragari to support with one's vote]