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Showing results for refined. Search instead for refired.
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.

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

“Even if we get back to normal transit, some of that five million barrels a day of refined materials sourced from the Gulf will be lost for months, possibly even longer,” Mills said.

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

The heart association applauded the government’s warnings against added sugars, refined grains and processed foods in January, noting that the advice aligns with the organization’s long-standing recommendations.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

She pictures three-hundred-pound sacks of refined white sugar deep in the hulls of ships.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

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.