refined
Americanadjective
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having or showing well-bred feeling, taste, etc..
refined people.
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freed or free from coarseness, vulgarity, etc..
refined taste.
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freed from impurities.
refined sugar.
- Synonyms:
- distilled
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very subtle, precise, or exact.
refined distinctions.
adjective
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not coarse or vulgar; genteel, elegant, or polite
-
subtle; discriminating
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freed from impurities; purified
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of refined
Explanation
Something that's refined has gone through a process to remove impurities. An oil refinery removes impurities from oil. When a person's refined, they have good manners and good taste. A stereotypically refined lady will drink tea every day at four in the afternoon, lift her pinky while drinking, and select only refined (pure white, not raw) sugar as a sweetener. Someone with a refined taste in art has learned how to make judgments about what is good and what they like.
Vocabulary lists containing refined
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Chains
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A Streetcar Named Desire
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Production is based on mined, rather than refined output.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
As I’ve gotten older and refined my own palate, khichuri has become my dish of all trades.
From Salon • Jun. 7, 2026
Industry veterans told MarketWatch that early crypto-derivatives exchange BitMEX refined the perpetual future into its current form, a product which it initially launched in 2016.
From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026
A recent upgrade from fluorescent to LED lighting has only refined the impression.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
I can tell she’s getting older in the entries, her language becoming more refined as time separates her from the fringe where she once lived, her reactions becoming more moderate.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
