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

Viewers grant these movies a rarefied status by continuously rallying behind them and pushing for them to be reconsidered by critics and mainstream audiences. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 18 Aug. 2025

Until your own vision takes shape, these rarefied retreats offer a taste of what’s possible. —Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 17 Aug. 2025

Youri Tielemans is a midfield craftsman, boasting a skill set that is in rarefied air. —Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2025

The two paintings, fusing collage and paint into layered, almost tactile compositions, add color and texture to the rarefied terrain of alpine luxury, where during winter skiers slice through snow drifts painted into presence. —Skylar Mitchell, Essence, 11 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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