refining : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: refining	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for refining
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
refining n the process of removing impurities (as from oil or metals or sugar etc.) Synonym(s): refining, refinement, purification
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Refine \Refine"\ (r?f?n"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Refined} (-find"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Refining}.] [Pref. re- + fine to make fine: cf. F. raffiner.] 1. To reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; to free from impurities; to free from dross or alloy; to separate from extraneous matter; to purify; to defecate; as, to refine gold or silver; to refine iron; to refine wine or sugar. I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined. --Zech. xiii. 9. 2. To purify from what is gross, coarse, vulgar, inelegant, low, and the like; to make elegant or exellent; to polish; as, to refine the manners, the language, the style, the taste, the intellect, or the moral feelings. Love refines The thoughts, and heart enlarges. --Milton. Syn: To purify; clarify; polish; ennoble.