refine

refine
verb (refined; refining) Date: 1582 transitive verb 1. to free (as metal, sugar, or oil) from impurities or unwanted material 2. to free from moral imperfection ; elevate 3. to improve or perfect by pruning or polishing <
refine a poetic style
>
4. to reduce in vigor or intensity 5. to free from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth intransitive verb 1. to become pure or perfected 2. to make improvement by introducing subtleties or distinctions • refiner noun

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Refine — Re*fine (r?*f?n ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Refined} ( find ); p. pr. & vb. n. {Refining}.] [Pref. re + fine to make fine: cf. F. raffiner.] 1. To reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; to free from impurities; to free from dross or alloy; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • refine\ on — • refine on • refine upon v 1. To make better; improve. Mary was asked to refine on her first outline to make it clearer and more exact. 2. To be better than; surpass. Modern medical techniques refine on those of the past …   Словарь американских идиом

  • refine — [ri fīn′] vt. refined, refining [ RE + FINE1, v., based on Fr raffiner, to purify] 1. to make fine or pure; free from impurities, dross, alloy, sediment, etc.; purify; clarify 2. to free from imperfection, coarseness, crudeness, etc.; make more… …   English World dictionary

  • refine — [v1] purify clarify, cleanse, distill, filter, process, rarefy, strain; concept 165 Ant. corrupt, dirty, pollute refine [v2] perfect, polish better, civilize, clarify, cultivate, elevate, explain, hone, improve, make clear, round, sleek, slick,… …   New thesaurus

  • Refine — Re*fine , v. i. 1. To become pure; to be cleared of feculent matter. [1913 Webster] So the pure, limpid stream, when foul with stains, Works itself clear, and, as it runs, refines. Addison. [1913 Webster] 2. To improve in accuracy, delicacy, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • refine — I verb advance, amend, better, clarify, cleanse, clear, correct, cultivate, develop, edit, elaborate, elevate, emend, enhance, filter, filtrate, improve, improve upon, make improvements, meliorate, modify, perfect, polish, purify, rectify,… …   Law dictionary

  • refine — UK US /rɪˈfaɪn/ verb [T] ► PRODUCTION to improve something or to make it pure, especially by removing material that is not wanted: »Crude oil is industrially refined to purify it. ► to improve an idea, a method, a system, etc. by making small… …   Financial and business terms

  • refine — (v.) 1580s, of metals, c.1590 of manners, from RE (Cf. re ), intensive prefix, + obsolete fine (v.) make fine, from FINE (Cf. fine) (adj.) delicate. Cf. Fr. raffiner, It. raffinare, Sp. refinar. General and figurative sense is recorded from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • refine — ► VERB 1) remove impurities or unwanted elements from. 2) make minor changes so as to improve (a theory or method). DERIVATIVES refiner noun …   English terms dictionary

  • refine — 01. I need to practice a lot in order to [refine] my tennis serve. 02. She shows a lot of promise as a violinist, but she needs to [refine] her technique somewhat. 03. Police raided an illegal laboratory in a house in Seattle today where they… …   Grammatical examples in English

  • refine — refinable, adj. refiner, n. /ri fuyn /, v., refined, refining. v.t. 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 …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”