Library / English Dictionary

RAREFY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: rarefied   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Weaken the consistency of (a chemical substance)

Synonyms:

attenuate; rarefy

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "rarefy" is one way to...):

weaken (lessen the strength of)

Domain category:

chemical science; chemistry (the science of matter; the branch of the natural sciences dealing with the composition of substances and their properties and reactions)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

rarefaction (a decrease in the density of something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make more subtle or refined

Synonyms:

rarefy; sublimate; subtilize

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "rarefy" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Lessen the density or solidity of

Example:

The bones are rarefied

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "rarefy" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

rarefaction (a decrease in the density of something)

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