Refined

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈfaɪnd/

Definitions

1. Processed to eliminate impurities or unwanted elements ; improved to show better quality or taste ; showing cultured or polite behavior
2. Purified by removing undesirable substances ; enhanced by making it more sophisticated or tasteful ; exhibiting elegance and good manners
3. Treated to remove contaminants or roughness ; made more excellent or pleasing ; characterized by refinement in manners or style

Etymology: The adjective "refined" is the past participle of "refine," and its history turns on a simple Latin idea: making something fine, or pure, by doing again what was already done. Latin "re-" means "back" or "again," and "fine" traces to the Latin "finis," meaning "end" or "boundary." Through the sense of bringing a thing to its ultimate, purest state, "fine" came to describe metal, gold, and other substances free of impurities. The verb passed into English through Old French, which had "raffiner," from "re-" plus "fin," and English took it up in the Middle Ages. Its early uses were literal, concerned with purifying metals, but over time it extended to manners, taste, language, and feelings, so that a refined person or style is one that has been cleansed of the coarse and crude.

Synonyms: polished, elegant, sophisticated, cultured, improved

Antonyms: crude, unrefined, rough, coarse, primitive