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Refractory vs Truculent - What's the difference?

refractory | truculent |

As adjectives the difference between refractory and truculent

is that refractory is obstinate and unruly; strongly opposed to something while truculent is cruel or savage.

As a noun refractory

is a material or piece of material, such as a brick, that has a very high melting point.

refractory

English

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.

    Synonyms

    * (obstinate) contrary (inanimates), fractious

    Derived terms

    * refractorily * refractoriness * refractory period

    Noun

    (refractories)
  • A material or piece of material, such as a brick, that has a very high melting point.
  • truculent

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • cruel or savage
  • When we were touring on a riverboat near Dandong, the truculent North Korean soldiers from the other side of the river gave us a steely-eyed death stare.
  • Deadly or destructive.
  • Defiant or uncompromising.
  • Eager or quick to argue, fight or start a conflict.
  • * 1992 , (Joel Feinberg), “ The Social Importance of Moral Rights” in (Philosophical Perspectives) VI (Ethics, 1992), page 195:
  • It is an important source of the value of moral rights then that?—?speaking very generally?—?they dispose people with opposed interests to be reasonable rather than arrogant and truculent .
  • * 2010 , Member, in Esquire Magazine "The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden..."[http://www.esquire.com/features/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313?src=rss]
  • (Refering to women in Bin Laden's compound) "These bitches is getting truculent ".

    Quotations

    * 1847 , , , ch VI, *: In her turn, Helen Burns asked me to explain, and I proceeded forthwith to pour out, in my own way, the tale of my sufferings and resentments. Bitter and truculent when excited, I spoke as I felt, without reserve or softening. * 1860-1861 , (Charles Dickens), , ch XLVI, *: She really was a most charming girl, and might have passed for a captive fairy, whom that truculent Ogre, Old Barley, had pressed into his service. * 1895 , , , ch 10, *: Most of them were little dramatic situations, crucial dialogues, the return of Mr. Hoopdriver to his native village, for instance, in a well-cut holiday suit and natty gloves, the unheard asides of the rival neighbours, the delight of the old 'mater,' the intelligence—"A ten-pound rise all at once from Antrobus, mater. Whad d'yer think of that?" or again, the first whispering of love, dainty and witty and tender, to the girl he served a few days ago with sateen, or a gallant rescue of generalised beauty in distress from truculent insult or ravening dog. * 1914 , (Edgar Rice Burroughs), , ch 10, *: If he came too close to a she with a young baby, the former would bare her great fighting fangs and growl ominously, and occasionally a truculent young bull would snarl a warning if Tarzan approached while the former was eating. * 1922 ,(Rafael Sabatini), , ch XVI, *: Cahusac appeared to be having it all his own way, and he raised his harsh, querulous voice so that all might hear his truculent denunciation. * 1925 , (Richard Henry Tawney), "Introduction", to (Thomas Wilson) A discourse upon usury by way of dialogue and orations: for the better variety and more delight of all those that shall read this treatise (1572); Classics of social and political science [ Page 2] *: Whatever his prejudices — and his book shows that they were tough — the most truculent of self-made capitalists could not have criticised him as a child in matters of finance. He had tried commercial cases, negotiated commercial treaties, ...

    Synonyms

    * (cruel or savage): barbarous, cruel, ferocious, fierce, savage * (deadly or destructive): deadly, destructive * (defiant or uncompromising): defiant, inflexible, stubborn, uncompromising, unyielding * belligerent

    See also

    * belligerent

    Anagrams

    * ----