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
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subtle; discriminating
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freed from impurities; purified
Other Word 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.
Refined olive oil, on the other hand, undergoes industrial processing to remove impurities.
From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026
In January, the discount widened to an average $8.29 a barrel, Refined Fuels Analytics data show.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
Refined by investing legends such as Martin Zweig, William O’Neil and Jesse Livermore over the past century, this strategy posits that stock-price trends tend to persist.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 28, 2026
“He’s such a loving man. Refined and loving. He’s what we say in Mexico is gente de raza.”
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2025
While the Respectables were putting most of their energies into making ends meet, the Refined were mapping out plans to make the heart of the black residential area a vibrant place to live.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
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.
