refractory period

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noun Physiology.

a short period after a nerve or muscle cell fires during which the cell cannot respond to additional stimulation.

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Origin of refractory period

First recorded in 1875–80

Words nearby refractory period

refractometer, refractometry, refractor, refractory, refractory anemia, refractory period, refractory state, refracture, refrain, reframe, refrangible

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use refractory period in a sentence

Unlike the Soviet Union at a certain period in history, the Russian economy does not hold a candle to that of the United States.
Oliver Stone’s Latest Dictator Suckup|James Kirchick|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The detectives are still at it, seeking to account for a period of time when Brinsley may well have paused to sit somewhere.
Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours|Michael Daly|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The idea that January 1st initiates a period of new beginning is not a flash of Hallmark brilliance.
New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style|Candida Moss|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The FCC investigation recently closed its comment period on the Marriott case.
How ‘Ethical’ Hotel Chain Marriott Gouges Guests in the Name of Wi-Fi Security|Kyle Chayka|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Neither could her three-week, multi-thousand dollar stay, which was supposed to be a recovery period.
The Insurance Company Promised a Gender Reassignment. Then They Made a Mistake.|James Joiner|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The reformers of the earlier period were not indifferent to the need for centralized organization in the banking system.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
Tobacco at this period was also rolled up in the leaves of the Palm and smoked.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
She did her work at a most interesting period in Dutch painting.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
(p. 054) At this period it appears that tobacco was used as money, and as the measure of price and value.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
At this period it brought enormous prices, the finest selling at from fifteen to eighteen shillings per pound.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for refractory period

refractory period

noun

a period during which a nerve or muscle is incapable of responding to stimulation, esp immediately following a previous stimulation. In an absolute refractory period there is a total inability to respond; in an effective or relative refractory period there is a response to very large stimuli

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for refractory period

refractory period

The period that follows effective stimulation, during which excitable tissue fails to respond to a stimulus of threshold intensity.

Scientific definitions for refractory period

refractory period

The period immediately following the transmission of an impulse in nerve or muscle, in which a neuron or muscle cell regains its ability to transmit another impulse. See more at action potential.