refinement

1 an instance of notable progress in the development of knowledge, technology, or skill the recent refinements in this area of medical technology Synonyms of refinement advancement, breakthrough, enhancement, improvement, advanceWords Related to refinement quantum leap; amelioration, boost, heightening, increase, melioration, strengthening, upgrade, uplift, upswing, uptrend, upturn; betterment, development, elaboration, evolution, expansion, gestation, growth, maturation, perfection, ripening; civilization, edification, education, enlightenment; renaissance, renascence, revival; discovery, find, windfall; innovation, inventionNear Antonyms of refinement breakdown, collapse, crash; hindrance, impediment, stumbling block; decadence, decay, declension, decline, decrease, degeneration, descent, deterioration, diminishment, downgrade, ebbing, failing, flagging, languishment, lapse, lessening, reduction, sinking, slowing, weakening, worsening; detriment, disablement, drawback, glitch, impairment, shortcomingAntonyms of refinement setback

2 a high level of taste and enlightenment as a result of extensive intellectual training and exposure to the arts had a sense of refinement that her small hometown couldn't satisfy, so she moved to New York City to be closer to great museums and concert halls Synonyms of refinement accomplishment, civilization, couth, cultivation, polish, cultureWords Related to refinement education, erudition, intellectualism, intellectuality, knowledge, learning, literacy, scholarship; cosmopolitanism, sophistication, urbanity; breeding, genteelness, gentility, manners; class, elegance, grace, taste; civility, courteousness, courtesy, politenessNear Antonyms of refinement ignorance, illiteracy; parochialism, provincialism, rusticity, unsophistication; boorishness, churlishness, clownishness, coarseness, crudeness, vulgarityAntonyms of refinement barbarianism, barbarism, philistinism

3 dignified or restrained beauty of form, appearance, or style although she can afford all the jewelry that money can buy, she dresses with the gentle refinement that only taste can bestow Synonyms of refinement class, classiness, courtliness, elegancy, fineness, grace, gracefulness, handsomeness, majesty, elegance, statelinessWords Related to refinement augustness, brilliance, gloriousness, glory, grandeur, grandness, lavishness, luxuriance, luxuriousness, luxury, magnificence, nobility, nobleness, opulence, ornateness, plushiness, plushness, resplendence, resplendency, richness, splendor, sumptuousness; artfulness, chic, polish, sophistication, taste, tastefulness; choiceness, classicism, dignity, exquisiteness, restraint, simplicity; affectedness, grandiosity, ostentation, ostentatiousness, pretentiousness, showinessNear Antonyms of refinement coarseness, crudeness, flamboyance, flashiness, garishness, gaudiness, glitz, grotesqueness, grotesquerie (also grotesquery), kitsch, tastelessness, tawdriness, vulgarityAntonyms of refinement gracelessness, inelegance