rarefy
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to make rare or rarer; make less dense.
to rarefy a gas.
-
to make more refined, spiritual, or exalted.
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
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”; see origin at rare 1, -fy
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.
See Examples For:
Although these sculptures pay tribute to commercialism, they rarefy it to something austere — or at least as austere as anything with pulsing green lights can be.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 19, 2018
Of course it’s serious, and art is serious, but I’m not going to rarefy it.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2011
It contains moist air and a movable diaphragm or piston to rarefy it suddenly.
From Time Magazine Archive
Our condensers, which compress, cool, and rarefy air, enabling travellers to obtain water and even ice from the atmosphere, are great aids in desert exploration, removing absolutely the principal distress of the ancient caravan.
From A journey in other worlds A romance of the future by John Jacob Astor
Isn’t it a pity Edison can’t invent a machine to rarefy an overdone steak?”
From Paste Jewels by John Kendrick Bangs
In the same way that regional brands like Shake Shack and In-N-Out have maintained cult followings for their novelty, Cane’s has no doubt benefited from the same kind of rarefied air.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
A decorative hanger-on, dependent on her rich friends and relatives, she is now 29 and still single when many more ordinary women in her rarefied New York circle have made successful matches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Mr. Warsh’s panels are different because in the rarefied world of monetary policy, the study committee is the necessary political action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Were Chun to win this tournament, she would be in rarefied air with bookend victories separated by 11 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
The dating service asked Mr. Gallup to fill out a questionnaire. rarefied.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
After rarefying to 5,000 sequences per sample, a total of 307,572 unique sequences were contained in the 96 studies and 23,828 samples of the ‘QC-filtered’ Deblur 90-bp observation table.
From Nature ● Oct. 31, 2017
On rarefying the gas, the formation of the brush was facilitated, but it was generally of a low squat form, very poor in light, and very similar on both the positive and negative surfaces.
From Experimental Researches in Electricity, Volume 1 by Michael Faraday
The porous condition of the bone, which is here shown, is a result of a rarefying or rarefactive ostitis.
From Diseases of the Horse's Foot by Harry Caulton Reeks
These tubercles may be present in large numbers at the expense of the living tissue, and a rarefying ostitis is thus produced.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 2 "Bohemia" to "Borgia, Francis" by Various
And with regard to their balsamic and aromatic nature, these qualities warm the stomach and expel wind, by rarefying the flatuous exhalations from chyle in the prima viæ.
From A Treatise on Foreign Teas Abstracted From An Ingenious Work, Lately Published, Entitled An Essay On the Nerves by Hugh Smith
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