Definition of "rarified" [rarified]

• Variant of rarefied. (adjective)

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.

• "It will fall on deaf ears as that kind of expression is rare in rarified D.C., a place that pays $700 billion on long odds, without any strings attached, a simple insider job with the cops turning their heads (all done in a few days without any public hearings) and then refuses to consider saving our last big manufacturing industry with or without strings."
• "(They're not exactly in rarified company, since PJPII has cranked out saints during his papacy at an indecent pace.) 1."
• "Cox will be floating in rarified air tonight as manager of the National League"