Rarefied

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Rarefy \Rar"e*fy\ (r[a^]r"[-e]*f[imac]; 277), v. t. [imp. & p.
     p. {Rarefied} (r[a^]r"[-e]*f[imac]d); p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Rarefying} (r[a^]r"[-e]*f[imac]`[i^]ng).] [F. rar['e]fier;
     L. rarus rare + -ficare (in comp.) to make; cf. L.
     rarefacere. See {-fy}.]
     To make rare, thin, porous, or less dense; to expand or


     enlarge without adding any new portion of matter to; --
     opposed to condense.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  rarefied
       adj 1: having low density; "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the
              rarefied mountain air" [syn: {rare}, {rarified}]
       2: reserved for an elite group [syn: {rarified}]
       3: of high moral or intellectual value; elevated in nature or
          style; "an exalted ideal"; "argue in terms of high-flown
          ideals"- Oliver Franks; "a noble and lofty concept" [syn:
          {exalted}, {high-flown}, {high-minded}, {lofty}, {rarified},
           {idealistic}, {noble-minded}]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  rarefy
       v 1: lessen the density or solidity of; "The bones are rarefied"
       2: make more subtle or refined [syn: {sublimate}, {subtilize}]
       3: weaken the consistency of (a chemical substance) [syn: {attenuate}]
       [also: {rarefied}]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  rarefied
       See {rarefy}

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  94 Moby Thesaurus words for "rarefied":
     adulterated, air-built, airy, attenuate, attenuated, boyish,
     chimerical, clannish, cliquish, cloud-built, cut, dainty, delicate,
     diaphanous, dilute, diluted, dreamlike, elevated, esoteric,
     ethereal, exalted, exclusive, fanciful, fatuitous, fatuous, fine,
     fine-drawn, finespun, flimsy, frail, gaseous, gauzy, girlish,
     gossamer, gossamery, gracile, high, illusory, imaginary,
     insubstantial, lacy, lean, light, lofty, misty, noble, papery,
     phantomlike, private, rare, reduced, scant, scanty, select,
     shadowy, slender, slenderish, slight, slight-made, slim, slimmish,
     slinky, small, sparse, spirituous, sublime, subtile, subtle,
     svelte, sylphlike, tenuous, thin, thin-bodied, thin-set, thin-spun,
     thinned, thinned-out, thinnish, threadlike, uncompact,
     uncompressed, unreal, unsubstantial, vague, vaporous, wasp-waisted,
     watered, watered-down, watery, weak, willowy, windy, wiredrawn,
     wispy