| 释义 |
refinement|rɪˈfaɪnmənt|
[f. refine v. Cf. F. raffinement (Cotgr.), It. raffinamento.]
1. The act or process of refining; the result of refining, or the state of being refined.
1611Cotgr., Raffinage, the refinement, or quintescence of. 1659H. More Immort. Soul iii. i, The Soul of Man is capable of very high refinements, even to a condition purely Angelical. 1688Boyle Final Causes Nat. Things ii. 85 The renovation and refinement of the present world by the last fire. 1709Steele Tatler No. 108 ⁋7 Religion which does not only promise the entire Refinement of the Mind, but the glorifying of the Body. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 229 For, as refinement stops, from sire to son Unalter'd, unimprov'd the manners run. 1816J. Scott Vis. Paris (ed. 5) 309 The refinement of nitre, from its rough state in the nitre bed, to the packing of the pure salt in casks. 1861W. Fairbairn Iron 99 The surface of iron thus exposed undergoes refinement.
†b. A refining influence. Obs. rare—1.
1712Hughes Spect. No. 525 ⁋6 If Love be any Refinement, Conjugal Love must be certainly so in a much higher Degree.
2. Fineness of feeling, taste, or thought; elegance of manners; culture, polish.
1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella v, I must tell you a great piece of refinement of Harley. 1784Cowper Task iv. 359 That sensibility of pain with which Refinement is endued. 1816J. Scott Vis. Paris (ed. 5) 170 Louis le Grand encouraged every thing that shed refinement over the world. 1843Prescott Mexico (1850) I. 393 It is too much to ask of any man..to be in advance of the refinement of his age. 1874Green Short Hist. iii. §5. 139 There was a certain refinement in Henry's temper which won him affection.
b. An instance of this; a particular feature, custom, or thing indicating refined manners, feelings, or taste.
1708Swift Sacram. Test Wks. 1751 IV. 166 We of Ireland are not yet come up to other Folks Refinements, for we generally love and esteem our clergy. 1714― Pres. St. Aff. ibid. 282 Affecting German Modes and Refinements in Dress or Behaviour. 1794S. Williams Hist. Vermont 151 Not until the refinements of society have taken place. 1820W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 6 The refinements of highly cultivated society. 1833–6J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) II. i. i. 39 Timour..had the command of every refinement not only of luxury, but of gluttony.
3. The act or practice of refining in thought, reasoning, or discourse; an instance of this.
1712Addison Spect. No. 303 ⁋13 It is the Poet's Refinement upon this Thought which I most admire. 1714Swift Pres. St. Aff. Wks. 1751 VI. 259 Opportunities of shewing their skill in Mystery and Refinement. 1754Edwards Freed. Will iv. xiii. (1762) 279 There is no high Degree of Refinement and abstruse speculation, in determining, that a Thing is not before it is. 1823Roscoe tr. Sismondi's Lit. Eur. (1846) II. 184 He abandoned himself to that refinement and false wit, which the Spaniards mistook for the language of passion.
b. A piece of subtle reasoning; a subtlety.
1708Swift Ch. Eng. Man Wks. 1751 IV. 71 [To] draw in fresh Proselytes by some further Innovations or Refinements. 1769Junius Lett. xv. (1788) 92 The people of this country are neither to be intimidated by violent measures, nor deceived by refinements. 1822Hazlitt Table-t. Ser. ii. xvi. (1869) 327 Sound conclusions come with practical knowledge, rather than with speculative refinements. 1875E. White Life in Christ iii. xxi. (1878) 302 No even colourable escape from this criticism seems possible except by refinements unintelligible to the common people.
4. An instance of improvement or advance towards something more refined or perfect; the state or thing thus arrived at or obtained.
1710Swift Tatler No. 230 ⁋6 The Breaks at the End of almost every Sentence; of which I know not the Use, only that it is a Refinement. 1732Law Serious C. xviii. (ed. 2) 333 For Emulation..is nothing else but a refinement upon envy. 1841Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. 595 All the refinements of his artful policy. 1851Penrose Princ. Athenian Arch. (title-p.), The optical refinements exhibited in the construction of the ancient buildings. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 156 A countermine was a refinement beyond their skill.
b. The most refined form of something.
1880Chr. World No. 1195. 138 It would be the refinement of exquisite cruelty. |