refined
Americanadjective
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having or showing well-bred feeling, taste, etc..
refined people.
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freed or free from coarseness, vulgarity, etc..
refined taste.
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freed from impurities.
refined sugar.
- Synonyms:
- distilled
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very subtle, precise, or exact.
refined distinctions.
adjective
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not coarse or vulgar; genteel, elegant, or polite
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subtle; discriminating
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freed from impurities; purified
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of refined
Explanation
Something that's refined has gone through a process to remove impurities. An oil refinery removes impurities from oil. When a person's refined, they have good manners and good taste. A stereotypically refined lady will drink tea every day at four in the afternoon, lift her pinky while drinking, and select only refined (pure white, not raw) sugar as a sweetener. Someone with a refined taste in art has learned how to make judgments about what is good and what they like.
Vocabulary lists containing refined
The Diary of Anne Frank
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Chains
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A Streetcar Named Desire
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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.
The production of refined oil fell by 5.6% and of plastics products by 4.9% in the first half of 2026.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
However, Statistics Canada noted International Energy Agency data showed that refined product markets remained tight, pushing petroleum refinery margins to four-year highs in early July.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
It captures the difference between the price of one barrel of crude oil and the price of the refined products made from it.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
The center, based at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, repeatedly refined its calculations until it identified the expected impact location.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
Her laugh, when she’s with them, is refined and low, like a woman’s laugh on the radio, except when she forgets herself.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
