rarefied

adjective

rar·​e·​fied ˈrer-ə-ˌfīd How to pronounce rarefied (audio)
variants or less commonly rarified
1
: being less dense
2
: of, relating to, or interesting to a select group : esoteric
3
: very high

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In the upper reaches of Chomolungma, known more familiarly as Mount Everest, the air is so rarefied—so much less dense than at lower elevations—that most climbers use supplemental oxygen in order to successfully complete their climb. This sense of rarefied, a word that comes from a combination of the Latin words rarus (“thin” or “rare”) and facere (“to make”), has been in use since the 1500s. A second, figurative sense of rarefied developed in the following century to describe things that can only be understood by a small or select group, i.e. one “thinned” from the majority of people by dint of their unique experience, expertise, or status. It’s this sense that we use when we say that to successfully summit Chomolungma puts one in rarefied company—just over 6,000 people have made it to the top at the time of this writing.

Examples of rarefied in a Sentence

It's difficult to breathe in the rarefied air near the mountain's peak.
Recent Examples on the Web But the iconic brand, owned by Hilton, is hardly alone in selling rarefied real estate. Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 18 Mar. 2024 If an in-demand celebrity opts for a certain designer on their biggest night of the year, the general public will also notice the rarefied status of said designer. Vogue, 12 Mar. 2024 This question of how to situate our time in the narrative arc of Earth history has thrust the rarefied world of geological timekeepers into an unfamiliar limelight. Raymond Zhong, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024 Many sports drive tourism but snow polo events—which occur in just a handful of lofty locales each year—have become a status symbol like few others, even within the already rarefied world of polo. Todd Plummer, Robb Report, 23 Feb. 2024 Beyond its rarefied decor, the hotel brims with creature comforts–like the heated rooftop pool, open seasonally from April to October and exclusively for hotel guests, offering jaw-dropping panoramic views over the city. Alexandra Kirkman, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The hallmarks of the rarefied Hong Kong brand are all present in this new build: immaculate service, streamlined tech, neutrally cosmopolitan design that gives way to a serene frictionless-ness, and capital-L luxury. Toby Skinner, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Feb. 2024 Although Fear of God already was popular among athletes off the court, the NCAA collection places the label in rarefied air. C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 16 Feb. 2024 Plus, maintaining that cool in these extremely strange, profoundly rarefied creative zones can’t be easy, either. Chris Richards, Washington Post, 2 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'rarefied.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of rarefied was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Rarefied.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rarefied. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

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