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REFRACTORY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Lining consisting of material with a high melting point; used to line the inside walls of a furnace
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("refractory" is a kind of...):
liner; lining (a protective covering that protects an inside surface)
Meronyms (substance of "refractory"):
fireclay (a heat-resistant clay)
alumina; aluminium oxide; aluminum oxide (any of various forms of aluminum oxide occurring naturally as corundum)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Stubbornly resistant to authority or control
Example:
a refractory child
Synonyms:
fractious; recalcitrant; refractory
Classified under:
Similar:
disobedient (not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority)
Derivation:
refractoriness (the trait of being unmanageable)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Temporarily unresponsive or not fully responsive to a process or stimulus
Example:
the refractory period of a muscle fiber
Classified under:
Similar:
unresponsive (not responding to some influence or stimulus)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Not responding to treatment
Example:
stubborn rust stains
Synonyms:
refractory; stubborn
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intractable (not tractable; difficult to manage or mold)
Derivation:
refractoriness (the trait of being unmanageable)
Context examples:
A regimen consisting of estramustine and vinblastine used for the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
(Estramustine-Vinblastine Regimen, NCI Thesaurus)
A regimen consisting of estramustine and paclitaxel used for the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.
(Estramustine-Paclitaxel Regimen, NCI Thesaurus)
Ceftobiprole is refractory to hydrolysis by class A and class C lactamases.
(Ceftobiprole Medocaril, NCI Thesaurus)
A chemotherapy regimen consisting of dexamethasone, high-dose cytarabine (Ara-C) and cisplatin, used to treat relapsed and refractory non-Hodgkin's and Hodgkin's lymphoma.
(DHAP Regimen, NCI Thesaurus)
PSMA, a tumor associated antigen, is overexpressed on the surface of metastatic and hormone-refractory prostate cancer cells.
(Anti-PSMA/CD3 BiTE Monoclonal Antibody MT112, NCI Thesaurus)
Clinical course may progress to bone marrow failure or acute myeloid leukemia that is refractory to treatment.
(Alkylating Agent-Related Myelodysplastic Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)
Its myocardial effects include a prolongation of action potential as well as refractory period.
(Bretylium Tosylate, NCI Thesaurus)
Scientists have long believed that relatively little of the latter, called "refractory carbon," is degraded in the ocean.
(Microbes in underground aquifers beneath deep-sea Mid-Atlantic Ridge 'chow down' on carbon, National Science Foundation)
As a class III antiarrhythmic agent, amiodarone blocks the myocardial calcium, potassium and sodium channels in cardiac tissue, resulting in prolongation of the cardiac action potential and refractory period.
(Amiodarone, NCI Thesaurus)
This rearrangement was observed in one patient with refractory anemia with excess blasts with basophilia, one patient with acute myelogenous leukemia with eosinophilia, and one patient with acute eosinophilic leukemia
(ETV6/ACSL6 Fusion Gene, NCI Thesaurus)
