refine

Academic Word List, sublist 9.

About 1.89 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. verb To purify; reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; to free from impurities.

   to refine gold

2. verb To become pure; to be cleared of impure matter.
3. verb To purify of coarseness, vulgarity, inelegance, etc.; to polish.

   to refine someone's manners

4. verb To improve in accuracy, delicacy, or excellence.
5. verb To make nice or subtle.

   to refine thought

Similar words

down complicate elaborate fine-tune rarify polish refinement clarification clarify purify

Often followed by

the and their our it your his this them a

Word family

refined refinement refinements refiner refiners refines refining