- (v.t.) To reduce to a fine, unmixed or pure state; to free from impurities; to free from dross or alloy; to separate from extraneous matter; to purify; to defecate; as, to refine gold or silver; to refine iron; to refine wine or sugar.
- (v.i.) To improve in accuracy, delicacy or excellence.
- (v.i.) To become pure; to be cleared of feculent matter.
- (v.i.) To affect nicety or subtilty in thought or language.
- (v.t.) To purify from what is gross, coarse, vulgar, inelegant, low, and the like; to make elegant or exellent; to polish; as, to refine the manners, the language, the style, the taste, the intellect or the moral feelings.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
| APA | Webster's. (2011). refine. Retrieved September 22, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/refine/definitions/2053739 |
| Chicago | Webster's. 2011. "refine" http://smartdefine.org/refine/definitions/2053739 (accessed September 22, 2026). |
| Harvard | Webster's 2011, refine, Smart Define, viewed 22 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/refine/definitions/2053739>. |
| MLA | Webster's. "refine" 27 May 2011. Web. 22 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/refine/definitions/2053739> |