refinement
re·fine·ment/ɹəˈfaɪnmənt/noun
refinement is spelled R-E-F-I-N-E-M-E-N-T: 10 letters and 3 syllables (re·fine·ment). It appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, refinement means “The act, or the result of refining; the removal of impurities, or a purified material” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of refinement is refinements.
How many letters and syllables are in refinement?
| Letters | 10: R-E-F-I-N-E-M-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: re·fine·ment |
| In writing | 1.6 times per million words; the 22,362nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is refinement?
Refinement appears 1.6 times per million words in written English, the 22,362nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce refinement?
- /ɹəˈfaɪnmənt/
- /ɹɪˈfaɪnmənt/
Refinement has 3 syllables, split re·fine·ment in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-refinement.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of refinement
- refinements plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does refinement mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The act, or the result of refining; the removal of impurities, or a purified material
- 2
High-class style; cultivation.
- 3
A fine or subtle distinction.
- 4
A luxury.
- 5
Synonym of grooming (“review and prioritization process”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Refinement in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Verbesserung, Veredelung , Veredeln |
| Portuguese | refino , refinamento, fineza, finura, requinte |
| Spanish | refinación , refinamiento |
| French | raffinement |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does refinement come from?
From refine + -ment.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).