rarified
/ˈrɛrəˌfaɪd/
adjective
- Of air or atmosphere: thin, less dense, especially at high altitudes.
- Climbers struggled to breathe in the rarified air of the mountain peak.
- The rarified atmosphere at high elevations can cause altitude sickness.
- Balloons expand as they rise into rarified air.
- Belonging to an exclusive, refined, or intellectually elevated group; esoteric.
- Living in the rarified world of high finance, she rarely encountered everyday problems.
- His taste in music is so rarified that few people have heard of his favorite bands.
- The conference was a rarified gathering of Nobel laureates.