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In the upper reaches of Chomolungma, known more familiarly as Mount Everest, the air is so rarefied—so much less dense than at lower elevations—that most climbers use supplemental oxygen in order to successfully complete their climb. This sense of rarefied, a word that comes from a combination of the Latin words rarus (“thin” or “rare”) and facere (“to make”), has been in use since the 1500s. A second, figurative sense of rarefied developed in the following century to describe things that can only be understood by a small or select group, i.e. one “thinned” from the majority of people by dint of their unique experience, expertise, or status. It’s this sense that we use when we say that to successfully summit Chomolungma puts one in rarefied company—just over 6,000 people have made it to the top at the time of this writing.
Examples of rarefied in a Sentence
Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Its inspirations are rooted in Me Too and its focus falls squarely on one difficult, flawed character’s rarefied existence, but its depiction of a life coming unmoored is haunting in ways that stretch beyond its origins.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
Only a rarefied few have won multiple times over the years.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Allowing the public access to usually rarefied spaces and events is part of Pronzato’s vision to build community through culinary experiences.
—Rhonda Richford, WWD, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for rarefied
Cite this Entry
“Rarefied.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rarefied. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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