Definition of "refinement" []

• The act of refining. (noun)
• The result of refining; an improvement or elaboration. (noun)
• The state or quality of being refined; cultivation, as in manners or taste. (noun)
• A keen or precise phrasing; a subtle distinction. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He dwelt on the spirit of freedom existing in America, asserting that their extreme notions of liberty arose from the peculiar religious spirit which existed in the colonies, which he termed a refinement on the principles of resistance, and which was carried with them on their first emigration from England."
• "Much of what we call refinement is a cruel burden and entails a grievous waste of human energy and happiness."
• "Is it true that cultivation, what we call refinement, kills individuality?"