rarefy
to make thinner or less dense
Roots
- fac / fic / fact: do or make
- rar / rare: rare, thin, or scarce
Other words with the fac / fic / fact root
- affectation: an artificial display meant to impress
- artificial: made by humans; not natural
- benefactor: person who gives help, money, or support
- beneficent: doing good or producing benefit
- beneficial: helpful or producing good effects
- certify: to confirm officially as true
- effect: a result or outcome
- efficacious: effective; producing the intended result
Other words with the rar / rare root
- rare: uncommon or thinly spread
Rarefy means make rare or thin: density falls until the air, idea, or atmosphere feels lighter.
The mountain air began to rarefy above the tree line.
Rarefy is make-thin. Rare gives the thin/scarce image; -fy carries make. Air can rarefy physically, and an idea can become rarefied when it thins into specialist abstraction.