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
- refreshingly adverb
- refreshingness noun
- unrefreshing adjective
- unrefreshingly adverb
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.
“I’m constantly pricing out airfare, and the best deals typically don’t come from refreshing your browser 47 times.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 20, 2026
His lyrics are refreshing, clearly about human yearning but never seeming confessional or like he has a specific point to make.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026
"I went home from work, put on the news, and started refreshing Truth Social," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
While Sokolov and Litvak’s script is thematically straightforward, it incorporates a few nods to racial and class solidarity throughout that are refreshing to see addressed, even if some of those nuances go unexamined.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
I turned to ask Mom but she was in the middle of refreshing her red lipstick, and when Dr. Mertz appeared from his office door she quickly hopped up.
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
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.
