rarefy
to make rare or rarer; make less dense: to rarefy a gas.
to make more refined, spiritual, or exalted.
to become rare or less dense; become thinned: Moisture rarefies when heated.
Origin of rarefy
1Other words from rarefy
- rar·e·fi·a·ble, adjective
- rar·e·fi·er, noun
Words Nearby rarefy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use rarefy in a sentence
Would an atmosphere perfumed by these Eastern woods clarify and rarefy our denser Occidental minds?
Mentone, Cairo, and Corfu | Constance Fenimore WoolsonBut as such means are not at disposal, it becomes necessary to place the terminal in a bulb and rarefy the air in the same.
The hot air in the smoke flues will warm the separating brick partition, and consequently rarefy the air in the ventilating flue.
A Treatise on Anatomy, Physiology, and Hygiene (Revised Edition) | Calvin CutterThe rarefy of the atmosphere continued to affect the wood-work of the wagons, and the wheels were incessantly falling to pieces.
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville | Washington IrvingBut extend this vapour, rarefy it; from so narrow a room as our natural bodies, to any politic body, to a state.
Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions | John Donne
British Dictionary definitions for rarefy
/ (ˈrɛərɪˌfaɪ) /
to make or become rarer or less dense; thin out
Origin of rarefy
1Derived forms of rarefy
- rarefiable, adjective
- rarefier, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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