refine
Americanverb (used with object)
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to bring to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities.
to refine metal, sugar, or petroleum.
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to purify from what is coarse, vulgar, or debasing; make elegant or cultured.
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to bring to a finer state or form by purifying.
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to make more fine, subtle, or precise.
to refine one's writing style.
verb (used without object)
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to become pure.
The silver is refining in the furnace.
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to become more fine, elegant, or polished.
His parents hope that his manners will refine as he gets older.
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to make fine distinctions in thought or language.
verb phrase
verb
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to make or become free from impurities, sediment, or other foreign matter; purify
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(tr) to separate (a mixture) into pure constituents, as in an oil refinery
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to make or become free from coarse characteristics; make or become elegant or polished
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to remove (something impure or extraneous)
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(intr; often foll by on or upon) to enlarge or improve (upon) by making subtle or fine distinctions
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(tr) to make (language) more subtle or polished
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of refine
Explanation
When you refine something, you make it better. Whether it's sugar or an essay, refining it requires fixing its flaws. You may think you created a masterpiece on the first try. But there's always room to refine. More than just working out the kinks, refining something means you're going to fine tune it, hone it to perfection, and make it more precise. In scientific terms, to refine something means to reduce it down to a pure state. At the dinner table, you can please grandma by refining your manners.
Vocabulary lists containing refine
Hatchet
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Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans
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"On Being Brought from Africa to America" by Phillis Wheatley
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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.
Google is working to establish search as the entry point to its AI features, and users can now interact with multimodal inputs and AI-powered suggestions to refine their queries.
From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026
The company is taking time to refine its technology before scaling to bigger systems, which has led to several readjustments of its timelines.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
Analysts will use Wednesday’s PPI numbers this morning to refine those April PCE forecasts.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026
The data will help scientists refine imaging techniques and practice operations they will later use while orbiting the asteroid Psyche.
From Science Daily • May 11, 2026
If one accepts the premises and definitions, one must accept what follows from them, but one can frequently reject premises or refine definitions or choose a different mathematical approach.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
