rarefied
rarified
Definition of rarefied
1 : being less dense
2 : of, relating to, or interesting to a select group : esoteric
3 : very high
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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
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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.
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After years of court action, the public can now reach the rarefied strand via three entry gates, though the place remains largely empty.
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Pulling back the curtain and allowing everyone a peek inside the rarefied world of fragrance also means allowing everyone a piece of the action.
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Today, however, all three are peeling back the curtain and offering, to varying degrees, small but significant slices of this rarefied world.
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Today, however, all three are peeling back the curtain and offering, to varying degrees, small but significant slices of this rarefied world.
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Today, however, all three are peeling back the curtain and offering, to varying degrees, small but significant slices of this rarefied world.
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McMillan's latest book is The Necklace, an intoxicating novel set in the rarefied world of money and society.
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A first lady who does not mince her steps, by contrast, can challenge the world from a rarefied platform.
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
Definition of rarefied for English Language Learners
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: understood by only a small group of people : only for people who know about a particular thing
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of air : not having much oxygen because of being high up in the atmosphere
Learn More about rarefied
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See words that rhyme with rarefied Nglish: Translation of rarefied for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of rarefied for Arabic speakers
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