refractory
1
9.1
- adjective
- /rɪˈfræktəri/
- Formal
:
refractario
- One explanation has been that tumor-associated pDCs are specifically defective in IFN-I production and responsiveness to IFN-I, similar to the refractory state observed by pDCs in chronic virus infections.
Examples
-
This technique uses the concept that an auditory stimulus produces a refractory area that has dimensions in time, frequency, and intensity.
Academic text (1993) -
If the refractory areas of successive stimuli overlap, the response will be adapted.
Academic text (1993) -
An actual scientific diagram of a penis in the refractory period.
Fiction book (1999) -
A 64-year-old man was a contractor with severe progressive nasal and sinus disease refractory to medical therapy for many years.
Academic text (1994) -
Conversely, if successive stimuli are presented outside the refractory area of preceding stimuli, adaptation can be avoided.
Academic text (1993) -
DIAGRAM: The Penberthy Electromelt Furnace is a steel tunnel lined with refractory ceramic blocks.
Academic text (1995) -
Multiple studies have noted that, around the same time that IFN-I production is reduced, the immune response and antigen-presenting cells (APCs), in particular, become refractory to subsequent TLR stimulation and IFN production 33-35.
Academic text (2017) -
After being activated, the patient's immune system had a refractory response, making it difficult for the treatment to take effect.
-
Following the surgery, the doctor explained that the injury might lead to a refractory period where healing would be slow and uneventful.
-
During the experiment, the cells remained in a refractory state, showing no reaction to the stimuli applied.
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
A condition with low red blood cells that does not get better with usual treatments and needs blood transfusions
- Specialized
A short time after a nerve or muscle sends a signal when it cannot respond to another one
- Specialized
A small heatproof bowl made of bone ash to separate metals like gold or silver during testing
- Specialized
With an inner layer of heatproof material that protects against very high heat
How Unresponsive
Surface Forms
Morphology
refractory = refract + ory
This specialized medical/physiological sense (temporarily unresponsive) is not transparently built from recognizable modern English morphemes, so the relation is not guessable for typical learners.
Etymology
Refractory comes from an old Latin idea of 'not giving in' or 'resisting', related to the same root behind fracture ('to break'). So in biology a refractory state means a cell or tissue 'does not respond' to a new stimulus for a short time.