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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.

While these components have been refined over many years, they are approaching their practical limits and are becoming harder to improve further.

From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2026

“From the moment you arrive, the home’s timeless Texas limestone facade, rich wood beams, and refined architectural detailing create an unmistakable sense of understated luxury,” the description notes.

From MarketWatch • 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

Properly called the Öpik–Oort cloud, it is named for the Estonian astronomer Ernst Öpik, who hypothesized its existence in 1932, and for the Dutch astronomer Jan Oort, who refined the calculations eighteen years later.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

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.