- present participle of refresh.
refreshing
Americanadjective
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having the power to restore freshness, vitality, energy, etc..
a refreshing nap.
-
pleasingly fresh or different.
a refreshing lack of pretense.
adjective
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able to or tending to refresh; invigorating
-
pleasantly different or novel
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of refreshing
Explanation
Something is refreshing if it reinvigorates you, or seems new and exciting. The offer of a refreshing glass of iced tea would be especially refreshing if it came from your normally cranky sister. Mint toothpaste is refreshing — clean and brisk — and a cool ocean breeze is refreshing on a hot day. If you're used to seeing wilted salads and pale lasagna in your school cafeteria every day, a refreshing change would be a taco bar or homemade pizza. Refreshing comes from the verb refresh, which has a Germanic root similar to frisc, "fresh" in Old High German.
Vocabulary lists containing refreshing
Words to Describe a Movie
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Words to Describe Food
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American Street
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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.
From going unbeaten in his opening nine games with a refreshing brand of football, the consensus was things had gone flat and that the head coach was bearing the brunt of it.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Kang noted the influence of South Korean dramas smuggled in on USB drives, finding them "so refreshing and more credible than North Korea state propaganda".
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
“It’s also a refreshing narrative. It’s, like, oh, you walk into somebody’s house, ‘Wow, that’s a nice Monet.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Enter the Goo Man, founder of Incredible Meat, whose sales pitch has the refreshing candor of someone who knows exactly what business he is in.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
It’s well written, and Draco has some bite to him, which is refreshing.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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.
