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refine - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'refine' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Refine [ v. i.]
- To become pure; to be cleared of feculent matter.
- To improve in accuracy, delicacy, or excellence.
- To affect nicety or subtilty in thought or language.
2 . Refine [ v. t.]
- To reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; to free from impurities; to free from dross or alloy; to separate from extraneous matter; to purify; to defecate; as, to refine gold or silver; to refine iron; to refine wine or sugar.
- To purify from what is gross, coarse, vulgar, inelegant, low, and the like; to make elegant or exellent; to polish; as, to refine the manners, the language, the style, the taste, the intellect, or the moral feelings.

Meaning of 'refine' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . refine [ v]
Meaning (1):
- attenuate or reduce in vigor, strength, or intensity by polishing or purifying
Example in sentence:
  • many valuable nutrients are refined out of the foods in our modern diet
Meaning (2):
- make more complex, intricate, or richer
Example in sentence:
  • refine a design or pattern
Meaning (3):
- make more precise or increase the discriminatory powers of
Example in sentence:
  • refine a method of analysis;
  • refine the constant in the equation
Meaning (4):
- treat or prepare so as to put in a usable condition
Example in sentence:
  • refine oil;
  • refine paper stock;
  • refine pig iron
Meaning (5):
- improve or perfect by pruning or polishing
Example in sentence:
  • refine one's style of writing
Meaning (6):
- reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; separate from extraneous matter or cleanse from impurities
Example in sentence:
  • refine sugar

Nearby Words:

refaction refar refashion refashionment refasten refect refection refective refectories refectory

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