The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Refractory \Re*frac"to*ry\, n.
   1. A refractory person. --Bp. Hall.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Refractoriness. [Obs.] --Jer. TAylor.
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   3. OPottery) A piece of ware covered with a vaporable flux
      and placed in a kiln, to communicate a glaze to the other
      articles. --Knight.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Refractory \Re*frac"to*ry\ (-r?), a. [L. refractorius, fr.
   refringere: cf. F. refractaire. See Refract.]
   1. Obstinate in disobedience; contumacious; stubborn;
      unmanageable; as, a refractory child; a refractory beast.
      [1913 Webster]

            Raging appetites that are
            Most disobedient and refractory.      --Shak.
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   2. Resisting ordinary treatment; difficult of fusion,
      reduction, or the like; -- said especially of metals and
      the like, which do not readily yield to heat, or to the
      hammer; as, a refractory ore.
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   Syn: Perverse; contumacious; unruly; stubborn; obstinate;
        unyielding; ungovernable; unmanageable.
        [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

refractory
    adj 1: not responding to treatment; "a stubborn infection"; "a
           refractory case of acne"; "stubborn rust stains" [syn:
           refractory, stubborn]
    2: temporarily unresponsive or not fully responsive to nervous
       or sexual stimuli; "the refractory period of a muscle fiber"
    3: stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious
       animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a refractory
       child" [syn: fractious, refractory, recalcitrant]
    n 1: lining consisting of material with a high melting point;
         used to line the inside walls of a furnace [syn: furnace
         lining, refractory]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

123 Moby Thesaurus words for "refractory":
   adversary, adversative, adverse, alien, antagonistic, anti,
   antipathetic, antithetic, at odds, averse, beyond control, breachy,
   bullheaded, china, clashing, clay, competitive, complaining, con,
   conflicting, contradictory, contrary, contumacious, counter, cross,
   cursory, defiant, deviant, differing, disaccordant, disagreeing,
   disinclined, disobedient, disputatious, disputing, dissentient,
   dissenting, dissident, enamel, enemy, forced, fractious,
   headstrong, hostile, impatient of control, incorrigible,
   indisposed, indocile, indomitable, inimical, insuppressible,
   intractable, involuntary, irrepressible, mulish, mutinous,
   negative, nonconformable, nonconforming, noncooperative,
   nonobservant, objecting, obstinate, obstreperous, obstructive,
   on the barricades, opponent, opposed, opposing, opposite,
   oppositional, oppositive, oppugnant, ornery, out of hand,
   overthwart, perfunctory, perverse, porcelain, proof against,
   protesting, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, reluctant,
   renitent, repellent, repugnant, resistant, resisting, resistive,
   restive, retardant, retardative, rival, self-willed, shrewish,
   stiff-necked, stubborn, sulky, sullen, unadaptable, unadjustable,
   unbiddable, uncompliant, unconforming, unconsenting,
   uncontrollable, uncooperative, unfavorable, unfriendly,
   ungovernable, unmalleable, unmanageable, unmoldable, unpropitious,
   unruly, unsubmissive, unwilling, unyielding, up in arms, wild,
   withstanding