rarefied

1 of 2

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

rarefied

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of rarefy

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

Adjective

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Motivated by a desire to preserve this rarefied world, and to learn more about the country that her parents had fled, Hélène enrolled at Sciences Po and became an expert on the region. — Madeleine Wulfahrt, New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2026

Another headline-making moment from Selasi’s recent runways was the rediscovery of 59-year-old model Evelyn Effrim-Botchey, who has since gone on to make waves on Paris’s most rarefied catwalks. — Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 4 Nov. 2026

Naruto sits in a rarefied tier of entertainment properties that have achieved an extraordinary global reach, enduring popularity, and cultural impact. — Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026

Wins for back-to-back movies would put him in rarefied company. — Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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