Library / English Dictionary

REFRESH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make fresh again

Synonyms:

freshen; refresh; refreshen

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

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

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

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Antonym:

tire (exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Become or make oneself fresh again

Example:

She freshened up after the tennis game

Synonyms:

freshen; freshen up; refresh; refreshen

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

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

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "refresh"):

lave; wash up (wash one's face and hands)

Sentence frames:

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

Derivation:

refreshment (activity that refreshes and recreates; activity that renews your health and spirits by enjoyment and relaxation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make (to feel) fresh

Example:

The cool water refreshed us

Synonyms:

freshen; refresh

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

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

regenerate; renew (reestablish on a new, usually improved, basis or make new or like new)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "refresh"):

air; air out; vent; ventilate (expose to cool or cold air so as to cool or freshen)

Sentence frames:

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

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to refresh Sue

Derivation:

refresher (a drink that refreshes)

refreshment (activity that refreshes and recreates; activity that renews your health and spirits by enjoyment and relaxation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Refresh one's memory

Example:

I reviewed the material before the test

Synonyms:

brush up; refresh; review

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

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

call back; call up; recall; recollect; remember; retrieve; think (recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

refresher (a course that reviews and updates a topic for those who have not kept abreast of developments)

Credits

 Context examples: 

When at last she returned to the unconscious Marianne, she found her just awaking, refreshed by so long and sweet a sleep to the extent of her hopes.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Fanny's spirit was as much refreshed as her body; her head and heart were soon the better for such well-timed kindness.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

My senses were gratified and refreshed by a thousand scents of delight and a thousand sights of beauty.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

You may not feel refreshed when you wake up.

(Insomnia, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

At last he thought to himself, “I can eat salad, it will refresh and strengthen me.”

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

But, after a good night's sleep, most people feel refreshed and ready to face a new day.

(Fatigue, NIH: National Institute on Aging)

Lestrade took out his official notebook and refreshed his memory from its pages.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“Your experience has been a most entertaining one,” remarked Holmes as his client paused and refreshed his memory with a huge pinch of snuff.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The astrocytes' job is to prune unnecessary synapses (connections) in the brain to refresh and reshape its wiring.

(Lack of Sleep Makes Brain to Literally Eat Itself, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The more you and I converse, the better; for while I cannot blight you, you may refresh me.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)