refine
Other forms: refined; refining; refines
When you refine something, you make it better. Whether it's sugar or an essay, refining it requires fixing its flaws.
You may think you created a masterpiece on the first try. But there's always room to refine. More than just working out the kinks, refining something means you're going to fine tune it, hone it to perfection, and make it more precise. In scientific terms, to refine something means to reduce it down to a pure state. At the dinner table, you can please grandma by refining your manners.
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reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; separate from extraneous matter or cleanse from impurities
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attenuate or reduce in vigor, strength, or validity by polishing or purifying“many valuable nutrients are refined out of the foods in our modern diet”type of:attenuatebecome weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude
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treat or prepare so as to put in a usable condition
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improve or perfect by pruning or polishing
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make more complex, intricate, or richer“refine a design or pattern”synonyms: complicate, elaborate, rarifytypes:involvemake complex or intricate or complicateddevelopelaborate by the unfolding of a musical idea and by the working out of the rhythmic and harmonic changes in the themesophisticatemake more complex or refined
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make more precise or increase the discriminatory powers of
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Vocabulary lists containing refine
The sole survivor of a plane crash in the Canadian wilderness, thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson will need resourcefulness, courage, and strength in order to stay alive.
This acclaimed nonfiction book tells the story of Hurricane Katrina in graphic form.
Poet Phillis Wheatley was kidnapped as a young girl from West Africa and enslaved in Boston in 1761. This poem, written in 1768, discusses Christianity, spiritual salvation, and racial equality. Read the text here.