Adjective

(en adjective)

Obstinate and unruly; strongly opposed to something.

*

* 1836 , ,

Mr. Weller knocked at the door, and after a pretty long interval—occupied by the party without, in whistling a tune, and by the party within, in persuading a refractory flat candle to allow itself to be lighted

Not affected by great heat.

* '>citation

(medicine) Difficult to treat.

* 1949 , Albert Fields and John Hoesley, " Neck and Shoulder Pain", Calif. Med. , 70(6):478–482.,

Many of the vague and refractory cases of neck and shoulder pain and of migraine may be due to cervical disc disease.

* 1990 , H. A. Ring et al'', " Vigabatrin: rational treatment for chronic epilepsy", ''J. Neurol. Neurosurg.Psychiatry , 53(12):1051–1055,

In 33 adult patients with long standing refractory epilepsy on treatment with one or two standard anti-convulsant drugs,

(biology) Incapable of registering a reaction or stimulus.

* 1959 , Nobusada Ishiko and Werner R. Loewenstein, " Electrical output of a receptor membrane]", [[w:Science (journal), Science] , 1959, 130:1405-6,

The production of a generator potential leaves a refractory state in the receptor membrane

* 1970 , S.S. Barold et al'', " Chest wall stimulation in evaluation of patients with implanted ventricular-inhibited demand pacemakers", ''Br. Heart J. , 32(6):783–789,

The delineates the pacemaker refractory period after the emission of a pacing stimulus and after the sensing of a spontaneous beat.

Adjective

(en adjective)

(archaic) Disobedient, contrary, unmanageable; difficult to deal with; with an evil disposition.

* 1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew :

Her onely fault, and that is faults enough, / Is, that she is intollerable curst, / And shrow'd, and froward , so beyond all measure, / That were my state farre worser then it is, / I would not wed her for a mine of Gold.

* 1826 , George Crabb

A froward child becomes an untoward youth, who turns a deaf ear to all the admonitions of an afflicted parent.

* {{quote-book

, year=2007 , year_published= , edition= , editor= , author=Peter Marshall , title=Mother Leakey and the Bishop: A Ghost Story , chapter= citation , genre= , publisher=Oxford Univ. Press , isbn=9780199273713 , page= , passage=… which so incensed this old hag that she grew as froward and sullen as the doctor, … }}

* {{quote-web

, date= , year=c2009 , first= , last= , author=Mary Sidney , authorlink= , title=Froward Women , site=Mary Sidney citation , archiveorg= , accessdate=2012-08-31 , passage=However, it does make one wonder — if William Shakespeare were the creator of all these froward , literate, and often powerful women, why did he let his own daughters grow up illiterate? }}

* {{quote-web

, date=2012-06-09 , year= , first= , last= , author=Christine , authorlink= , title=Forward or Froward , site=Talk Wisdom citation , archiveorg= , accessdate=2012-08-31 , passage=… the Communist/Marxist/Progressive/Globalist meaning of the term "Forward" can more accurately be labeled as Froward'. … campaign slogan choice would better resemble the term "' Froward " rather than the term "Forward." }}