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say it: ruh-FAHYN-muhnt
refinement is a noun meaning "a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality". It carries 5 recorded senses.
a highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality
“they performed with great polish”
“I admired the exquisite refinement of his prose”
“almost an inspiration which gives to all work that finish which is almost art”
the result of improving something
“he described a refinement of this technique”
the process of removing impurities (as from oil or metals or sugar etc.)
the quality of excellence in thought and manners and taste
“a man of intellectual refinement”
“he is remembered for his generosity and civilization”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for refinement come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.