rarefied

adjective

variants: or less commonly rarified

Definition of rarefied

1 :being less dense

2 :of, relating to, or interesting to a select group :esoteric

3 :very high

See rarefied defined for English-language learners

rarefied was our Word of the Day on 08/29/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of rarefied in a Sentence

It's difficult to breathe in the rarefied air near the mountain's peak.

Recent Examples of rarefied from the Web

That would put him in truly rarefied air—above Rubin, Mnuchin and Hank Paulson, all of whom have served as Treasury secretary.

— william d. cohan, The Hive, "Please, God, Save Gary Cohn from Himself," 18 Aug. 2017
Boutique owner Ikram Goldman might not quite be a household name — but in the rarefied world of high fashion, her name commands respect.

— kim janssen, chicagotribune.com, "In email, fashion world boss tells Emanuel to police dog poo offenders," 8 Aug. 2017
In the Smithsonian’s museum of Asian arts, conservation is a rarefied world of badger-hair brushes and irradiated silks, poultices and pastes, scalpels and solvents.

— victoria dawson, Smithsonian, "Conservation of a Pair of Saint-Gaudens Goes al Fresco at the Freer," 18 July 2017
After years of court action, the public can now reach the rarefied strand via three entry gates, though the place remains largely empty.

— ann herold, Los Angeles Magazine, "These Photos Will Make You Fall in Love with LA’s Beaches All Over Again," 17 July 2017
Pulling back the curtain and allowing everyone a peek inside the rarefied world of fragrance also means allowing everyone a piece of the action.

— liana schaffner, Allure, "The American Perfumers Modern Approach to Fragrance," 11 July 2017
Today, however, all three are peeling back the curtain and offering, to varying degrees, small but significant slices of this rarefied world.

— michele parente, Pacific San Diego Magazine, "Destination spas offer luxury to the masses," 27 June 2017
Today, however, all three are peeling back the curtain and offering, to varying degrees, small but significant slices of this rarefied world.

— michele parente, Pacific San Diego Magazine, "Destination spas offer luxury to the masses," 27 June 2017
Today, however, all three are peeling back the curtain and offering, to varying degrees, small but significant slices of this rarefied world.

— michele parente, Pacific San Diego Magazine, "Destination spas offer luxury to the masses," 27 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rarefied.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Rarefied was formed from the verb rarefy, which derives from a combination of the Latin rarus ("thin" or "rare") with facere ("to make") and has meant "to make thin" since the 14th century. In its original uses back in the 1500s, the adjective rarefied was on the lean side too; it meant "made less dense" (as in "the fog lifted and we could breathe more easily in the rarefied air"). By the 17th century, rarefy had gained the sense "to refine or purify," and over time rarefied followed suit.

First Known Use of rarefied

14th century

RAREFIED Defined for English Language Learners

rarefied

adjective

Definition of rarefied for English Language Learners

: understood by only a small group of people : only for people who know about a particular thing
of air : not having much oxygen because of being high up in the atmosphere