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Synonyms

refined

American  
[ri-fahynd] / rɪˈfaɪnd /

adjective

  1. having or showing well-bred feeling, taste, etc..

    refined people.
    Synonyms:
    elegant, genteel, courtly, civilized, courteous, polite, polished, cultivated
    Antonyms:
    crude, coarse, rude

  2. freed or free from coarseness, vulgarity, etc..

    refined taste.

  3. freed from impurities.

    refined sugar.
    Synonyms:
    distilled

  4. very subtle, precise, or exact.

    refined distinctions.
refined British  
/ rɪˈfaɪnd /

adjective

  1. not coarse or vulgar; genteel, elegant, or polite

  2. subtle; discriminating

  3. freed from impurities; purified

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • half-refined adjective
  • nonrefined adjective
  • quasi-refined adjective
  • refinedly adverb
  • refinedness noun
  • semirefined adjective
  • superrefined adjective
  • ultrarefined adjective
  • well-refined adjective

Etymology

Origin of refined

First recorded in 1565–75; refine + -ed 2

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.

It raises an obvious question: how can a relatively simple, low-cost material compete with highly refined silicon technology developed over decades?

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026

Some of his ideas will need to get refined and will be constrained financially at the city and state level.

From Barron's • Apr. 7, 2026

The most powerful car in the company’s history, the Black Badge Spectre is hushed and refined.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

Architecture by Swedroe Architecture, with interiors by Oggi Design House, aims to deliver a more refined, design-forward residential experience along the Treasure Coast.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

Since going off to private school—and hanging around the Object—my tastes had been changing, becoming refined, I thought.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

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.