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 vast majority of these releases were of crude oil rather than refined fuel, according to data from the IEA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Yet I’ve spared no expense on what I find a more refined sound system in my Volvo, which I now use more and more for audio books than music.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 16, 2026
Europe has curbed refined capacity over the past five to 10 years, and other regions of the world, such as Latin America, have underinvested in their refining capacity, Selesky said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
Never mind that Platner’s true background is more refined than his campaign biography suggests.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
He wore the perfectly cut frock coat and vest of all Kerch merchants—dark, refined, deliberately staid.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
