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Showing results for rarefied. Search instead for ultrararefied.
Synonyms

rarefied

American  
[rair-uh-fahyd] / ˈrɛər əˌfaɪd /

adjective

  1. extremely high or elevated; lofty; exalted.

    the rarefied atmosphere of a scholarly symposium.

  2. of, belonging to, or appealing to an exclusive group; select; esoteric.

    rarefied tastes.
rarefied British  
/ ˈrɛərɪˌfaɪd /

adjective

  1. exalted in nature or character; lofty

    a rarefied spiritual existence

  2. current within only a small group; esoteric or exclusive

  3. (of a gas, esp the atmosphere at high altitudes) having a low density; thin

"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

Other Word Forms

  • ultrararefied adjective
  • unrarefied adjective

Etymology

Origin of rarefied

First recorded in 1660–70; rarefy + -ed 2

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.

That reach extends into more rarefied spaces too.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

The privilege is pressure, pressure is a privilege and the possibility of making such rarefied history, with folks at FanGraphs giving the Dodgers 27% odds to win this World Series, is anything but automatic.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2026

Dictators may be faithless and brutal to their own people, but in the rarefied circle of fellow dictators, a kind of camaraderie flourishes.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026

The Iran war had turned one of the world’s most rarefied sports into a high-stakes evacuation mission—one that would be filled with logistical obstacles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026

Galaxies would become ever more distant from one another, and the star stuff that drives all the energetic reactions in the universe would become more rarefied.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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.