intractable

in·trac·ta·ble

adjective \(ˌ)in-ˈtrak-tə-bəl\

Definition of INTRACTABLE

1

: not easily governed, managed, or directed <intractable problems>

2

: not easily manipulated or wrought <intractable metal>

3

: not easily relieved or cured <intractable pain>

— in·trac·ta·bil·i·ty \(ˌ)in-ˌtrak-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

— in·trac·ta·bly \-blē\ adverb

Examples of INTRACTABLE

1. a patient experiencing intractable pain
2. <an intractable child who deliberately does the opposite of whatever he is told>
3. Contrary to the idea of black holes sucking everything, even light, into inconceivable nothingness, Hawking proposed that there was one thing that could escape a black hole's intractable grip: thermal radiation … —Bruno Maddox, Discover, September 2006
4. Sepsis, which is what happens to the body when an infection goes bad, is one of mankind's oldest and most intractable foes. —Leon Jaroff, Time, 24 July 2000
5. But now anesthesiologists have begun turning to an herb to help treat a deadly and often intractable lung condition that affects hundreds of thousands of people a year. —Eric Nagourney, New York Times, 26 Oct. 1999

Origin of INTRACTABLE

Latin intractabilis, from in- + tractabilis tractable

First Known Use: 1531

Related to INTRACTABLE

Synonyms

balky, contrary, contumacious, defiant, froward, incompliant, insubordinate, disobedient, obstreperous, rebel, rebellious, recalcitrant, recusant, refractory, restive, ungovernable, unruly, untoward, wayward, willful (or wilful)

Antonyms

amenable, biddable, compliant, conformable, docile, obedient, ruly, submissive, tractable

Related Words

noncooperative, uncooperative; insurgent, mutinous; adamant, adamantine, dogged, hardheaded, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inflexible, mulish, negativistic, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, peevish, pertinacious, pigheaded, rigid, self-willed, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding; fractious, restive, uncontrollable, unmanageable, wild; perverse, resistant, wrongheaded; bad, disorderly, errant, misbehaving, mischievous, monkeying, monkeyish, naughty; undisciplined; dissident, nonconformist; discourteous, disrespectful, ill-bred, ill-mannered, ill-natured, impertinent, impolite, impudent, inconsiderate, insolent, ornery, rude, uncivil, uncouth, ungracious, unmannerly

Near Antonyms

acquiescent, agreeable, amiable, cooperative, deferential, obliging; yielding; behaved, disciplined, well-bred; courteous, polite, respectful; kowtowing, obsequious, servile, slavish, subservient; decorous, mannerly, orderly, proper; controllable, governable, manageable, trainable

See Synonym Discussion at unruly

Other Metals and Metallurgy Terms

assay, bloom, bullion, ductile, ingot, malleable, patina, plate, temper, tensile

Rhymes with INTRACTABLE

abstractable, compactible, contractible, distractible, exactable, extractable, retractable

in·trac·ta·ble

adjective \(ˈ)in-ˈtrak-tə-bəl\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of INTRACTABLE

1

: not easily managed or controlled (as by antibiotics or psychotherapy) <an intractable child> <activity against many intractable Proteus and Pseudomonas species of bacteria—Annual Report Pfizer>

2

: not easily relieved or cured <intractable pain> <intractable bleeding in duodenal ulcer—Journal of the American Medical Association>

—in·trac·ta·bil·i·ty \(ˌ)in-ˌtrak-tə-ˈbil-ət-ē\ (audio pronunciation) noun, plural ; in·trac·ta·bil·i·ties