rarefied

adjective

rar·​e·​fied ˈrer-ə-ˌfīd 

variants or less commonly rarified

1

: being less dense

2

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

3

: very high

Did you know?

In the upper reaches of Chomolungma, known more familiarly as Mount Everest, the air is so rarefied—so much less dense than at lower elevations—that most climbers use supplemental oxygen in order to successfully complete their climb. This sense of rarefied, a word that comes from a combination of the Latin words rarus (“thin” or “rare”) and facere (“to make”), has been in use since the 1500s. A second, figurative sense of rarefied developed in the following century to describe things that can only be understood by a small or select group, i.e. one “thinned” from the majority of people by dint of their unique experience, expertise, or status. It’s this sense that we use when we say that to successfully summit Chomolungma puts one in rarefied company—just over 6,000 people have made it to the top at the time of this writing.

Examples of rarefied in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Cindy Chao operates in the rarefied high jewelry segment, unveiling a couple of pieces a year during Paris Couture Week and at art fairs, such as the recent edition of Art021 in Shanghai. —Lily Templeton, Footwear News, 22 Dec. 2025

Presales for original drama Marty Supreme are the fastest in A24 history Deadline hears with more than 65 complete sellouts across hundreds of showtimes, and over 70% of tickets sold overall, setting the Timothée Chalamet-starring drama for rarefied numbers in limited release at six theaters. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 19 Dec. 2025

People did collectively, in movements and parties and unions, and even in more rarefied precincts of power and intellectual influence, though any individual champion always had the potential to disappoint or sell out. —Sam Lipsyte, Curbed, 15 Dec. 2025

That will prove to be one of the film’s wittier running gags — that everyone in this rarefied world marries their first or second cousin, because that’s the only way to keep the wealth in the family. —Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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