refinement

American  

[ri-fahyn-muhnt] / rɪˈfaɪn mənt /

noun

1. fineness or elegance of feeling, taste, manners, language, etc.

2. an instance of refined refined feeling, manners, etc.

3. the act or process of refining.

4. the quality or state of being refined. refined.

5. a subtle point or distinction.

6. subtle reasoning.

7. an improved, higher, or extreme form of something.

   a refinement of the old system.

8. Mathematics. a set whose elements include the elements of a given set.

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refinement British  

/ rɪˈfaɪnmənt /

noun

1. the act of refining or the state of being refined

2. a fine or delicate point, distinction, or expression; a subtlety

3. fineness or precision of thought, expression, manners, etc; polish or cultivation

4. a device, change, adaptation, etc, designed to improve performance or increase efficiency

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Other Word Forms

• nonrefinement noun
• prerefinement noun
• self-refinement noun
• superrefinement noun

Etymology

Origin of refinement

First recorded in 1605–15; refine + -ment

Example Sentences

Medvedev believes the core mechanism behind the zebra stripes is now largely understood, though further refinements may improve precision.

From Science Daily

Still, in our endless chase of machined refinement, I think we’re missing the value of human irregularity.

From The Wall Street Journal

The typing tutor and vocab trainer were easy to make based on a description of the app and a few rounds of refinements.

From BBC

The start of the campaign "marked the culmination of months, and in some cases, years, of deliberate planning and refinement against this particular target set."

From Barron's

A musk ox of his refinement cannot spend the day traipsing up and down, getting his fur all sweaty and unmanageable.

From Literature

Related Words

• delicacy
• dignity
• elegance
• erudition
• finesse
• grace
• graciousness
• nicety
• nuance
• precision
• sophistication
• subtlety
• tact