C14: from Old French raréfier, from Latin rārēfacere, from rārusrare1 + facere to make
rarefy in American English
(ˈrɛrəˌfaɪ)
verb transitive, verb intransitiveWord forms: ˈrareˌfied or ˈrareˌfying
1.
to make or become thin, or less dense
the rarefied mountain air
2.
to make or become more refined, subtle, or lofty
a rarefied sense of humor
Derived forms
rarefaction (ˌrareˈfaction) (ˌrɛrəˈfækʃən)
noun
rarefactive (ˌrareˈfactive)
adjective
Word origin
ME rarefien < MFr rarefier < L rarefacere < rarus, rare1 + facere, to make, do1
Examples of 'rarefy' in a sentence
rarefy
The contrast between this rarefied world and the hardship of her upbringing could not be more extreme.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
In the rarefied world of ski property, the news doesn't get much bigger than this.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The art world is a rarefied place.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The key question has been how far the problems have spread beyond rarefied banking circles.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Like all literary feuds it began in a suitably rarefied atmosphere.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
You breathe this rarefied air for a very short time.
The Sun (2011)
Bespoke bottling is also limited to a rarefied world.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In a rarefied atmosphere some slight breathlessness is common.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The focus on the tiny elite has made me breathless in rarefied air.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
She seemed to exist in a rarefied air of lonely but enigmatic beauty.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Ordinarily only the fittest are allowed to survive in the rarefied air of the summit.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Sixty degrees below zero and the air was rarefied and its pressure fatally low for a human lung.
Len Deighton Bomber
In these rarefied circles, being green brings cachet.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
There are two inflammatory issues that keep cropping up in the rarefied world of British ballet.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Somewhat surprisingly in the rarefied atmosphere of modern grandmaster chess, this bucolic approach bears fruit.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Now Parling has to prove it in the most rarefied atmosphere of all.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
He was soaring in rarefied air - and then he looked down.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
THE classical music world is a rarefied place.
The Sun (2011)
He noticed that after only a few weeks, many of the students were struggling in the rarefied atmosphere.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
To less rarefied viewers, it's simply a masterpiece.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Mostly it's discussed only in rarefied design circles, but its ripples are beginning to spread.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
But it's still a fantastic opportunity to see the national team in the rarefied atmosphere of Brazil.
The Sun (2014)
The price of this is a decline in business activity; something that does not impinge on the rarefied world of theoretical economics which central bankers live in.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Synonyms of 'rarefy'
thin out, refine, clarify, purify
More Synonyms of rarefy
(verb)
Synonyms
thin out
refine
Oil is refined so as to remove naturally occurring impurities.
clarify
Clarify the butter by bringing it to a simmer in a small pan.
purify
Plants can filter and purify the air in your office.
attenuate
sublimate
subtilize
Additional synonyms
in the sense of attenuate
Synonyms
stretch out,
extend,
thin,
slim,
refine,
lengthen,
draw out,
spin out,
elongate,
make fine,
rarefy,
make slender
in the sense of clarify
Definition
to make or become free of impurities, esp. by heating
Clarify the butter by bringing it to a simmer in a small pan.
Synonyms
refine,
cleanse,
purify
in the sense of purify
Definition
to free (something) of harmful or inferior matter
Plants can filter and purify the air in your office.
Synonyms
clean,
filter,
cleanse,
refine,
clarify,
disinfect,
fumigate,
decontaminate,
sanitize,
detoxify
Nearby words of
rarefy
rara avis
rare
rarefied
rarefy
rarely
raring
raring to
Synonyms of 'rarefy'
rarefy
Explore 'rarefy' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of refine
Definition
to make free from impurities
Oil is refined so as to remove naturally occurring impurities.