refine

verb

re·fine | \ ri-ˈfīn

refined; refining

Definition of refine

transitive verb

1 : to free (something, such as metal, sugar, or oil) from impurities or unwanted material

2 : to free from moral imperfection : elevate

3 : to improve or perfect by pruning or polishing refine a poetic style

4 : to reduce in vigor or intensity

5 : to free from what is coarse, vulgar, or uncouth

intransitive verb

1 : to become pure or perfected

2 : to make improvement by introducing subtleties or distinctions

Other Words from refine Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about refine

Keep scrolling for more

Examples of refine in a Sentence

The inventor of the machine spent years refining the design. The class is meant to help you refine your writing style.

Recent Examples on the Web

In addition, the pharmaceutical giant supplied most of the nation’s opioid material to other drug manufacturers, refined by one of its companies from a variety of poppy that Johnson & Johnson developed and grew in Tasmania. — Jan Hoffman, New York Times, "Johnson & Johnson Ordered to Pay $572 Million in Landmark Opioid Trial," 26 Aug. 2019 Terrell Suggs has been good, and has even helped Chandler Jones in refining his game. — Albert Breer, SI.com, "What We Have Learned So Far From NFC West Training Camps," 13 Aug. 2019 Miles has tried to refine his game and grow in every area possible, all with one goal in mind; to get a spot on an NBA team. — Sarah Todd, Philly.com, "Former St. Joe's star Isaiah Miles looking to break into NBA on Sixers summer league team," 8 July 2018 The 91 acres of parkland have just been refined by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates as if restoring a vision of the pastoral. — Edward Rothstein, WSJ, "A New Gateway to the West," 2 July 2018 Researchers, meanwhile, are documenting the power of simple prevention approaches and refining them. — Greg Miller, Science | AAAS, "Three suicide prevention strategies show real promise. How can they reach more people?," 22 Aug. 2019 How the machine has marked it and correct it and the machine will then learn that and refine it through. — Eric Johnson, Vox, "“The $300 textbook is dead,” says the CEO of textbook maker Pearson," 2 Aug. 2019 Behind the scenes, the raceway is working to recapture used oil, cleaning solvents, fluids and lubricants and re-refine them for further use. — Elena Shao, SFChronicle.com, "Car racing doesn’t sound eco-friendly, but Sonoma Raceway wants to change that," 26 July 2019 Check Point sees signs that attackers started developing Agent Smith adware in 2016 and have been refining it ever since. — Lily Hay Newman, WIRED, "Adware Is the Malware You Should Actually Worry About," 21 July 2019

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