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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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]
WordNet (r) 2.0
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]
WordNet (r) 2.0
rarefied
See rarefy
WordNet (r) 2.0
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
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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