different between fortify vs refine

English

Etymology

From Old French fortifier, from Latin fortific?.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?f??t?fa?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?f??t?fa?/
• Hyphenation: for?ti?fy

Verb

fortify (third-person singular simple present fortifies, present participle fortifying, simple past and past participle fortified)

1. (military) To increase the defenses of; to strengthen and secure by military works; to render defensible against an attack by hostile forces. [from early 15th c.]
2. (figuratively) To impart strength or vigor to.
3. (wine) To add spirits to wine to increase the alcohol content. [from 1880]

4. (food) To increase the nutritional value of food by adding ingredients. [from 1939]
   • 1979, Kiplinger's Personal Finance (volume 33, number 7, July 1979, page 47)

     Compare the nutrition information label of a regular ready-to-eat fortified cereal with that of a presweetened brand and you'll note that, although the sweetened one's sugar content is higher, the fortification is virtually identical.

Synonyms

• (To strengthen military defenses): castellate, incastle, incastellate; see also strengthen and secure
• (To impart strength): See also Thesaurus:strengthen

Derived terms

• biofortify

Related terms

• fort
• fortification
• fortress

Translations

English

Etymology

re- +? fine

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???fa?n/
• Rhymes: -a?n
• Hyphenation: re?fine

Verb

refine (third-person singular simple present refines, present participle refining, simple past and past participle refined)

1. (transitive) To purify; reduce to a fine, unmixed, or pure state; to free from impurities.

2. (intransitive) To become pure; to be cleared of impure matter.
3. (transitive) To purify of coarseness, vulgarity, inelegance, etc.; to polish.

4. (transitive, intransitive) To improve in accuracy, delicacy, or excellence.
5. (transitive) To make nice or subtle.

Related terms

• refinable
• refinement
• refiner
• refinery

Translations

Further reading

• refine in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• refine in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Feiner, enfire, ferine, fineer

Portuguese

Verb

refine

1. first-person singular present subjunctive of refinar
2. third-person singular present subjunctive of refinar
3. first-person singular imperative of refinar
4. third-person singular imperative of refinar

Spanish

Verb

refine

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of refinar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of refinar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of refinar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of refinar.