Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
rare (2)
rare earth
rare-earth element
rare gas
rarebit
raree show
rarefaction
rarefied
rarefy
raregroove
rarely
rareripe
rarified
rarify
raring
rarity
RAS
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "rarefy" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

rarefy

rar·e·fy [ rérrə f ] (past and past participle rar·e·fied, present participle rar·e·fy·ing, 3rd person present singular rar·e·fies)


verb 
Definition:
 
1. transitive and intransitive verb become or make something less dense: to make something, especially a gas, less dense, or become less dense

2. transitive verb make something more refined: to make something less connected with or typical of the ordinary

[14th century. Directly or via French raréfier< medieval Latin rareficare< Latin rarefacere "make rare" < rarus "scarce" + facere "do"]

rar·e·fi·a·ble [ rérrə f əb'l, rérrə f əb'l ] adjective
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft