refine

[ri-fahyn]

verb (used with object)

refined, refining 

1. to bring to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities.

   to refine metal, sugar, or petroleum.

2. to purify from what is coarse, vulgar, or debasing; make elegant or cultured.

3. to bring to a finer state or form by purifying.

4. to make more fine, subtle, or precise.

   to refine one's writing style.

verb (used without object)

refined, refining 

1. to become pure.

   The silver is refining in the furnace.

2. to become more fine, elegant, or polished.

   His parents hope that his manners will refine as he gets older.

3. to make fine distinctions in thought or language.

verb phrase

1. refine on / upon,  to improve by inserting finer distinctions, superior elements, etc..

   to refine on one's previous work.

refine

/ rɪˈfaɪn /

verb

1. to make or become free from impurities, sediment, or other foreign matter; purify

2. (tr) to separate (a mixture) into pure constituents, as in an oil refinery

3. to make or become free from coarse characteristics; make or become elegant or polished

4. to remove (something impure or extraneous)

5. (intr; often foll by on or upon) to enlarge or improve (upon) by making subtle or fine distinctions

6. (tr) to make (language) more subtle or polished

Other Word Forms

• refinable adjective
• refiner noun
• prerefine verb (used with object)
• self-refining adjective
• superrefine verb (used with object)
• unrefining adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of refine¹

First recorded in 1575–85; re- + fine ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of refine¹

C16: from _re- + _fine ¹

Example Sentences

They would require foreign companies to get approval for selling magnets that contain even minimal amounts of rare earth sourced from China, or produced or refined using Chinese technology.

Read more on Barron's

By refining global biostratigraphic frameworks and calibrating species' evolutionary timelines, INA researchers transform fossils of coccolithophores into precise tools for reconstructing ancient oceans, linking modern plankton ecology with the geological record of climate change.

Read more on Science Daily

Using their refined method, the MIT team lowered the rate of mistakes in prime editing from roughly one in seven edits to about one in 101 for the most common editing type.

Read more on Science Daily

Super shoes, refined training, faster tracks and legal supplements most likely have had bigger effects on lowering times.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

To refine the algorithm, the partners have fed R2-D2 data on the companies Touring has already backed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• civilize 
• clarify 
• cultivate 
• hone 
• improve