REFRESH

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does refresh mean? 

• REFRESH (verb)
  The verb REFRESH has 4 senses:

1. refresh one's memory

2. make (to feel) fresh

3. become or make oneself fresh again

4. make fresh again

  Familiarity information: REFRESH used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REFRESH (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they refresh    ... he / she / it refreshes   
Past simple: refreshed   
Past participle: refreshed   
-ing form: refreshing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Refresh one's memory

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

brush up; refresh; review

Context example:

I reviewed the material before the test

Hypernyms (to "refresh" is one way to...):

call back; call up; recall; recollect; remember; retrieve; think (recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

refresher (a course that reviews and updates a topic for those who have not kept abreast of developments)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make (to feel) fresh

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

freshen; refresh

Context example:

The cool water refreshed us

Hypernyms (to "refresh" is one way to...):

regenerate; renew (reestablish on a new, usually improved, basis or make new or like new)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "refresh"):

air; air out; vent; ventilate (expose to cool or cold air so as to cool or freshen)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

The performance is likely to refresh Sue

Derivation:

refresher (a drink that refreshes)

refreshment (activity that refreshes and recreates; activity that renews your health and spirits by enjoyment and relaxation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become or make oneself fresh again

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

freshen; freshen up; refresh; refreshen

Context example:

She freshened up after the tennis game

Hypernyms (to "refresh" is one way to...):

change (undergo a change; become different in essence; losing one's or its original nature)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "refresh"):

lave; wash up (wash one's face and hands)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

refreshment (activity that refreshes and recreates; activity that renews your health and spirits by enjoyment and relaxation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make fresh again

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

freshen; refresh; refreshen

Hypernyms (to "refresh" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Antonym:

tire (exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress)

 Context examples 

How can I ever pay you? she added, as the wine refreshed her body, as the kind words had done her troubled mind.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I assure you it is very refreshing after sitting so long in one attitude.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

Buy new clothes and see about refreshing your appearance in April.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

The Count himself left my luggage inside and withdrew, saying, before he closed the door:—You will need, after your journey, to refresh yourself by making your toilet.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Ha! ha! ha! ha! Isn't THAT refreshing, my young friend!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Then, rested, refreshed and strong, he turned his face toward camp and John Thornton.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

The shade was most refreshing, and Emma found it the pleasantest part of the day.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

He simply wished, I should imagine, to refresh his memory upon that last occasion.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I awoke in the morning shaken, weakened, but refreshed.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

I assured him, “I was well refreshed with his good entertainment and company, and as much in my senses as ever I was in my life.”

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)