Nearby Words

refine

[ri-fahyn] Example Sentences Origin

re·fine

[ri-fahyn] verb, -fined, -fin·ing.
verb (used with object)
1.
to bring to a fine or a pure state; free from impurities: to refine metal, sugar, or petroleum.
2.
to purify from what is coarse, vulgar, or debasing; make elegant or cultured.
3.
to bring to a finer state or form by purifying.
4.
to make more fine, subtle, or precise: to refine one's writing style.
verb (used without object)
5.
to become pure.
6.
to become more fine, elegant, or polished.
7.
to make fine distinctions in thought or language.

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Refine is a GRE word you need to know.
So is renowned. Does it mean:
famous, acclaimed
cause a person to accept or be resigned to something not desired
8.
refine on/upon, to improve by inserting finer distinctions, superior elements, etc.: to refine on one's previous work.

Origin:
1575–85; re- + fine1

re·fin·a·ble, adjective
re·fin·er, noun
pre·re·fine, verb (used with object), -fined, -fin·ing.
self-re·fin·ing, adjective
su·per·re·fine, verb (used with object), -fined, -fin·ing.
EXPAND
un·re·fin·ing, adjective
COLLAPSE
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To refine
Example Sentences
  • Most of these images refine and distill an unease with the body that pervades real life.
  • All faculty and students are part of an ongoing effort to determine and refine the effectiveness of instruction and learning.
  • But refine the alkaloids in coca, and you get cocaine.
EXPAND
Collins
World English Dictionary
refine (rɪˈfaɪn)
 
vb (often foll by out)
1.  to make or become free from impurities, sediment, or other foreign matter; purify
2.  (tr) to separate (a mixture) into pure constituents, as in an oil refinery
3.  to make or become free from coarse characteristics; make or become elegant or polished
4.  to remove (something impure or extraneous)
5.  (intr; often foll by on or upon) to enlarge or improve (upon) by making subtle or fine distinctions
6.  (tr) to make (language) more subtle or polished
 
[C16: from re- + fine1]
 
re'finable
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

refine
1582, of metals, 1588 of manners, from re-, intensive prefix + obs. fine (v.) "make fine," from fine (adj.) "delicate" (q.v.). Cf. Fr. raffiner, It. raffinare, Sp. refinar. General and fig. sense is recorded from 1596; of sugar, from 1613. Refinery in various senses is first
EXPAND
recorded 1727. Refinement "act or process of refining" is from 1611; meaning "fineness of feeling" is from 1708.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

refine re·fine (rĭ-fīn')
v. re·fined, re·fin·ing, re·fines
To reduce to a pure state; purify.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

REFINE definition


1. "Research on Knowledge-Based Software Environments at Kestrel Institute", D.R. Smith et al, IEEE Trans Soft Eng, SE-11(11) (1985). E-mail: .
2. Cordell Green et al, Stanford U. Uses logic to specify and evolve programs. [same as 1?] Reasoning Systems, Inc. E-mail: .

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
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