🇨🇳Chinese Source WordCode: ZH

耐火材料

Pronunciation / Transliteration: nài huǒ cái liào

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Refractory/rɪˈfræk.tər.i/
adjectivenounCEFR C2 (Proficient)Top #14500 frequency
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🇨🇳 Example Sentence in Chinese:

"工业炉通常需要使用优质的耐火材料。"

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As adjective
  1. 1

    Resistant to heat or melting; capable of withstanding extremely high temperatures without suffering degradation.

    "Refractory materials are essential for lining industrial furnaces and high-temperature reactors."
  2. 2

    Stubborn, unmanageable, or resistant to authority, treatment, or cure.

    "The patient presented with a refractory case of hypertension that failed to respond to standard medications."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

Derived from the Latin refractarius, meaning stubborn or obstinate, originating from refractus, the past participle of refringere (to break up). Over centuries, the meaning shifted from a figurative stubbornness to a technical designation in metallurgy and engineering for materials that resist extreme heat.

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