Spanish word

refinar

Pronunciation

IPA/refiˈnaɾ/

Meaning

  • verbrefine

Example

Necesito refinar mi pronunciación.

I need to refine my pronunciation.

Illustration for refinar (refine)

More examples

Quiero refinar mi técnica de conversación.

I want to hone my conversational technique.

Core concept

A craftsperson making tiny passes to polish a metal piece to a smooth finish.

Common phrases

  • refinar la pronunciación

    polish the pronunciation

  • refinar la técnica

    hone the technique

  • refinar habilidades

    hone skills

Similar words

mejorar: Raise overall quality or condition through general improvement.
afinar: Adjust fine details to increase accuracy or responsiveness, like precise tuning.
pulir: Polish skills or expression to make them smoother and more fluent.
perfeccionar: Remove remaining flaws to increase completeness and approach a perfect finish.

Definition in Spanish

Mejorar o perfeccionar algo mediante correcciones finas y continuas, especialmente en técnica, estilo o materiales.

Word origin

From Old French raffiner, originally 'to purify' for materials and later extended to mean improving a thing or skill by fine, repeated corrections.

Usage tips

  • Used often for industrial, technical, or artistic refinement; for casual improvement of pronunciation or habits, pulir or mejorar often sounds more natural.

Other meanings

  • improveverb
  • purifyverb

Opposites

Related words

  • refinamientorefinementnoun
  • refinadorefinedadjective
  • refinadorrefining unitnoun

Word lists with this word