rarefy

American  

[rair-uh-fahy] / ˈrɛər əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

rarefied, rarefying

1. to make rare or rarer; make less dense.

   to rarefy a gas.

2. to make more refined, spiritual, or exalted.

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verb (used without object)

rarefied, rarefying

1. to become rare or less dense; become thinned.

   Moisture rarefies when heated.

rarefy British  

/ ˈrɛərɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to make or become rarer or less dense; thin out

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Other Word Forms

• rarefiable adjective
• rarefier noun

Etymology

Origin of rarefy

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rarefien, from Middle French rarefier, from Medieval Latin rārificāre, from Latin rārēfacere, equivalent to rārē-, irregular, unexplained combining form of rārus + facere “to make”; rare ¹, -fy

Example Sentences

Optimism about its growing AI business gave the Google parent entry to a rarefied club.

From The Wall Street Journal

Managing more assets can mean the ability to offer clients more rarefied investment products and the sort of one-stop shop they say clients are seeking.

From The Wall Street Journal

That is something that I learned from people who were raised in a much more rarefied environment than I was.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the way Stoppard incorporates mathematical concepts as rarefied as fractal geometry to explore concepts of order and chaos as the characters hypothesize on the patterns of time is Stoppardian through and through.

From Los Angeles Times

Bellingham's greater experience of the rarefied air of major competitions will surely just give him the edge when Tuchel names his team for England's first World Cup game.

From BBC

Related Words

• attenuate