The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
REFRACTORY
Definition of REFRACTORY
adjective
Obstinate and unruly; strongly opposed to something.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From Latin refractārius (“obstinate”), from refrāctus, past participle of refringere (“to break up”). Originally refractary, refractarie, but reanalysed after other adjectives in -ory.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
Line of descent
- Latin
- English
One recorded step before English.
Deepest traced root
1st
of 59 source languages in OUTLIER
30.7%
of traced words share this origin (26,419)
branch · 30.7% of traced words
How it is built
Same root, REFRACTORY · 2 relatives in the game
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
REFRACTORY in OUTLIER
Players have found it on 1 board so far. 28 players have found it across Outlier's history.
It first turned up on Day 155, 22 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 21 days.
First ever to find it
on Day 155, 22 October 2026 - before anyone else in Outlier's history. See the Pioneers
Built from these letters
REFRACTORY starts with R and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read ACEFORRRTY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. R appears more than once.
Words that start REFRAC
Its neighbours in the OUTLIER dictionary - shortest first.
Could you have found REFRACTORY?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 155 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER