English

Verb

refined

1. simple past tense and past participle of refine

   The raw petroleum was refined into kerosene.

Adjective

refined ‎(comparative more refined, superlative most refined)

1. Precise, freed from imprecision, particularly:
   1. (of people, obsolete) Sagacious, sometimes (pejorative) oversubtle or feigning sagacity.
   2. (of thought) Subtle, scrupulous, carefully thought out.

      The argument, while not persuasive, is quite refined.

   3. (of processes) Developed, improved.

      The curriculum has been carefully refined to meet the needs of foreign students.

2. Cultured, freed from vulgarity, particularly:
   1. (of language) Elevated and polished.

      In the British Isles, Oxbridge is considered refined; Geordie somewhat less so.

   2. (of people) Elegant, sometimes (pejorative) affected, prissy, or bloodless.

      Don Draper was a man of refined tastes.

      • 1946, Elizabeth Metzger Howard, Before the Sun Goes Down, p. 31:

        "Jesus Christ! Was my folks refined. My mam she wouldn't think-a lettin' us young'uns call a pee pot a pee pot. A chamber's what she called it... And by God! Us young'uns had ter call the pee pot a chamber or git our God damn necks wrang."

3. Purified, reduced in or freed from impurities, particularly:
   1. (of products) Highly-processed and pure.

      Under current guidelines, refined sugar must be at least five times purer than its raw counterpart.

   2. (of metal) Free of dross or alloy.

      The Temple at Jerusalem preferred Tyrian shekels, since even with Ba'al's portrait they bore highly refined silver.

   3. (of people, obsolete) Morally pure.
4. (of a market) Dealing in a refined product such as sugar or petroleum.

Translations

Noun

refined ‎(plural refineds)

1. (finance) The refined form of a commodity, as opposed to its raw or generic form.

   We're still purchasing copper ore, but the market for refined is weaker.

Anagrams

• definer