to refine
41
3.9
- verb
- /rɪˈfaɪn/
- Specialized
:
refinar
- For centuries, raw sugar has been coming into the Thames in huge quantities to be refined in factories like this.
- refine oil
- refine products
- refine petroleum
So the top, the refining makes it less toxic.
- So the top, the refining makes it less toxic.
- We can pull out of the ground enough oil and refine it to keep cars going.
- And there are only two places where you can refine that oil, Texas and now China.
- Well, then we'll frack more and we'll refine more, right?
- And you have to go through this complex industrial process to refine the oil out of those things.
- To go a little bit deeper on those things, processed food, OK, So basically when we refined grains, we strip the fiber.
- I want to see you extract it and then refine it, purify it and sell it and make money.
- It's just the excess of it and how they're refined that I think is the problem.
Examples
-
We can pull out of the ground enough oil and refine it to keep cars going.
-
If you know where there's enough oil, we can refine it.
-
And you have to go through this complex industrial process to refine the oil out of those things.
-
And there are only two places where you can refine that oil, Texas and now China.
-
But what I'd like to ask is how easy would this be to get and to refine to make it pure?
-
As with ordinary science, we must constantly try to refine all aspects of the practice.
Academic text (1993) -
There are many different grades of oils, a lot of which are more expensive to refine.
-
Indeed, considerable effort has gone into refining ways of facilitating contact with these sources.
Academic text (1990) -
As technology for waste disposal and effluent control is refined and improved, regulatory barriers may also diminish.
Academic text (1992) -
The factory works hard to refine the crude oil into pure gasoline for our cars.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To remove dirt and stains
74
1.0
To make water or air free from harmful substances
49
6.3
To remove unwanted substances, things, or people by cleaning
30
4.6
To remove dirt and bad chemicals from water or air to make them clean
20
3.8
To remove unwanted things from water, air, or lists by letting the rest pass
11
3.7
Make something clean and free from bacteria
9
7.0
To remove harmful substances from a place or thing to make it safe
5
4.2
To remove solid bits so a liquid becomes clear
3
6.7
To remove salt from water so people can drink it or use it to water crops
2
5.4
To remove harmful substances from something to make it safe
1
7.6
To remove a stain or impurity so something becomes clean
1
8.6
To remove ions from water to make it purer
1
8.0
To remove minerals and salts from water or teeth
1
9.1
To make air or gas thinner so there is less of it in a place
To remove impurities from a liquid to make it pure
Removes harmful or unwanted substances to make something clean
To boil a liquid again and collect the steam to make it purer
To remove acid from something, especially old paper or wine, to stop damage
To remove nitrogen from soil or water
Antonyms
How Pure
30
4.6
- Specialized
11
5.2
- Specialized
41
3.9
- Specialized
5
4.2
138
3.0
Surface Forms
Etymology
Refine comes from the parts re- 'again' and fine 'pure', and it was long used for cleaning metals and sugar to make them purer. That's why to refine a substance means to remove unwanted material until it is clean and pure.