Refined

How to spell refined

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce refined

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does refined mean?

1. adjectiveShowing polished, cultured taste, manners or judgement.
2. adjectiveProcessed to remove impurities or unwanted substances.
3. verbPast tense of refine: improved something by making small changes, or purified it.

Refined in a sentence

• adjective

  Her refined taste in art impressed the gallery owners.

• adjective

  The recipe calls for refined sugar rather than the raw kind.

• verb

  The team gradually refined the design until it worked perfectly.

• adjective

  He spoke with a refined accent that suited the formal dinner.

• adjective

  Refined oil flows more smoothly through the engine.

• verb

  Over several years she refined her writing style.

Where does refined come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word grows out of the verb 'refine', which English assembled in the 1500s from the prefix 're-' (carrying an intensive 'thoroughly' force here) and the verb 'fine', meaning to make pure or perfect. The 'fine' element traces back through Old French 'fin' to the Latin 'finis', which literally meant 'end' or 'limit'; from the idea of bringing something to its finished, ideal limit came the sense of 'pure' or 'high quality'. The verb first described literally purifying metals and sugar, stripping out the dross, and the past participle 'refined' came to label anything so purified. By the 1600s the same idea was applied to people and behaviour, so a 'refined' manner meant one polished and freed of coarseness. The shared 'fin' root still links it to 'fine', 'finish' and 'final', and the single 'f' followed by '-ined' is the usual spelling check worth remembering.

How the word is built

• re- (again, intensive)
• fine (from Latin finis: end, limit; via the sense of perfecting)
• -ed (past participle/adjective suffix)