refined
/rɪˈfaɪnd/- 1.
If something is refined, it has been improved by careful work. It is cleaner, better shaped, or more exact than before.
- Her ideas are refined after each discussion.
- The design looks refined and elegant.
- We need a more refined plan.
- 2.
If a person is refined, they behave in a polite, cultured, and tasteful way. Their speech, manners, or style seem educated and careful.
- He has a refined way of speaking.
- She looked calm and refined at the dinner.
- The hotel has a refined atmosphere.
- 3.
If a substance is refined, unwanted parts have been removed from it. This is often used for sugar, oil, or metal.
- Refined sugar is very common in packaged food.
- The factory produces refined oil.
- They sell refined gold.
Adinary Nuance
Refined often overlaps with polished, elegant, and sophisticated, but it is not exactly the same. Polished often describes smooth skill or manners, while refined suggests careful improvement and more delicate taste. Elegant focuses on beauty, and sophisticated often suggests worldliness or high culture. Use refined when you want to stress careful improvement, subtle style, or a person’s cultured manner.
In other languages
- Vietnamese
- tinh tế
- Spanish
- refinado
- Chinese
- 精致的
- Japanese
- 洗練された
- Korean
- 세련된
Etymology
Refined comes from Old French refiner, meaning 'to purify or improve.' It entered English in the Middle Ages and kept both meanings: improved and purified.
Common phrases
Synonyms
Related words
Frequently asked questions
- Is refined formal or informal?
- It is fairly formal and often used in writing, business, and polite speech.
- What is the difference between refined and polished?
- Polished often means smooth, skilled, or well-presented. Refined suggests careful improvement and more delicate taste.
- Can I use refined for a person?
- Yes. It can describe someone polite, cultured, and tasteful.
- Is refined used for food and materials?
- Yes. It often describes sugar, oil, metals, and other substances with impurities removed.