Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for refine on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object), re·fined, re·fin·ing. to bring to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities: to refine metal, sugar, or petroleum. to purify from what is coarse, vulgar, or debasing; make elegant or cultured. to bring to a finer state or form by purifying. to make more fine, subtle, or precise: to refine one's writing style. Show More
verb (used without object), re·fined, re·fin·ing. to become pure: The silver is refining in the furnace. to become more fine, elegant, or polished: His parents hope that his manners will refine as he gets older. to make fine distinctions in thought or language. Show More
refine on /upon , to improve by inserting finer distinctions, superior elements, etc.: to refine on one's previous work. Show More
Origin of refine First recorded in
1575–85; re- +
fine1 Related forms re·fin·a·ble , adjective re·fin·er , noun pre·re·fine , verb (used with object), pre·re·fined, pre·re·fin·ing. self-re·fin·ing , adjective su·per·re·fine , verb (used with object), su·per·re·fined, su·per·re·fin·ing. un·re·fin·ing , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for refining Contemporary Examples of refining Twin studies using EEG were subsequently performed more than a dozen times, refining protocols and controlling for design flaws.
But the New Year is also about planning ahead, refining a longer-term vision of balance and sustainability.
Other technologies are refining the concept of a “fit” between school and student.
Refining the way in which the screening is administered would be preferable to discarding it altogether, Knoepfler believes.
“We share this focus on refining , taking away complexity, removing anything unnecessary, doing fewer things but better,” he says.
Historical Examples of refining Refining the courtship, raillery, and conversation of plays!
Paris did not fail to exercise its refining influence on Erasmus.
It was not faith, however, that had come to him, only a refining and quickening of his imagination.
The loss of gold in mining and refining is comparatively small.
In refining the loss is enormous, often as much as forty per cent.
British Dictionary definitions for refining to make or become free from impurities, sediment, or other foreign matter; purify (tr) to separate (a mixture) into pure constituents, as in an oil refinery to make or become free from coarse characteristics; make or become elegant or polished (tr often foll by out ) to remove (something impure or extraneous) (intr ; often foll by on or upon) to enlarge or improve (upon) by making subtle or fine distinctions (tr) to make (language) more subtle or polished Show More
Derived Forms refinable , adjective Word Origin for refine C16: from re- + fine 1
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
Word Origin and History for refining v. 1580s, of metals, c.1590 of manners, from re- , intensive prefix, + obsolete fine (v.) "make fine," from fine (adj.) "delicate." Cf. French raffiner , Italian raffinare , Spanish refinar . General and figurative sense is recorded from 1590s; of sugar, from 1610s. Related: Refined ; refining .
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
To reduce to a pure state; purify. Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Knocking on Heaven's Door: True Stories of Unexplained, Uncanny Experiences at the Hour of Death