rarefied

3 definitions found

rarefied - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  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]

rarefied - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  rarefied
      adj 1: having low density; "rare gasses"; "lightheaded from the
             rarefied mountain air" [syn: rare, rarefied,
             rarified]
      2: 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"; "a grand
         purpose" [syn: exalted, elevated, sublime, grand,
         high-flown, high-minded, lofty, rarefied, rarified,
         idealistic, noble-minded]

rarefied - Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :

  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