refine
English
/ɹɪˈfaɪn/
verb
Definitions
- (transitive) To purify; reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; to free from impurities.
- (intransitive) To become pure; to be cleared of impure matter.
- (transitive) To purify of coarseness, vulgarity, inelegance, etc.; to polish.
- (ambitransitive) To improve in accuracy, delicacy, or excellence.
- (transitive) To make nice or subtle.
Etymology
Prefix from English fine (pay a penalty).
Origin
English
fine
Gloss
pay a penalty
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- autorefinement English
- biorefinery English
- finable English
- fine English
- fine-grained English
- fineable English
- finedraw English
- finedrawn English
- fineish English
- fineless English
- finely English
- fineness English
- finesome English
- finespun English
- finify English
- hyperfine English
- microfine English
- overfine English
- overrefine English
- overrefinement English
- post-fine English
- refinability English
- refinable English
- refinement English
- refiner English
- refinery English
- rerefine English
- rerefiner English
- superfine English
- superrefine English
- ultrafine English
- unfine English
- fin Middle English
- faini Swahili
- faen Bislama
- fine
- finify
- unfine
- finely
- fineish
- finable
- refiner
- overfine
- finedraw
- finespun
- fineless
- finesome
- refinery
- fineness
- rerefine
- fineable
- finedrawn
- hyperfine
- ultrafine
- post-fine
- superfine
- rerefiner
- microfine
- refinable
- overrefine
- refinement
- biorefinery
- superrefine
- fine-grained
- refinability
- autorefinement
- overrefinement