refractaire

Refractaire is the French adjective corresponding to the English term refractory. In English usage the standard form is refractory, while refractaire appears mainly in French-language texts and in cross-language references. The general sense is something that resists or remains unaffected by a process, influence, or treatment.

In materials science and industry, refractory refers to materials that can withstand very high temperatures without melting or deforming, and that resist chemical attack and thermal shock. Refractory materials are used to line furnaces, kilns, and reactors in metals processing, ceramics, and glass production. Common families include silica, alumina, magnesia, dolomite, and silicon carbide, as well as various high‑tech ceramic composites. Key properties include high melting points, structural strength at elevated temperatures, chemical inertness toward slags and fuels, and good thermal insulation.

In medicine and physiology, refractory describes conditions or responses that fail to improve with standard therapies. Refractory epilepsy, cancer, or anemia denotes diseases that remain unresponsive to conventional treatment. The term also appears in physiology as the refractory period, a span after an action potential or stimulation during which tissue is less excitable or unable to respond to a further stimulus.

Some contexts also use the term to denote metals or components designed for extreme conditions, known as refractory metals (examples include tungsten, molybdenum, tantalum, and niobium), which are valued for their very high melting points and strength at high temperatures. The concept broadly covers materials, diseases, and physiological responses characterized by resilience or resistance to change.