Meaning & use
refreshing
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Making you feel cooler, cleaner or more awake after you were hot or tired.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a linking verb: a refreshing drink, the water was refreshing.
Patterns
- a refreshing drink
- feel refreshing
A cold glass of lemonade is refreshing on a hot afternoon.
The refreshing mountain air woke us up.
He took a refreshing swim before breakfast.
adjectivecomparablefigurative
Welcome because it is different from what is normal, especially something honest or new after something dull.
Grammar: Often used with it is refreshing to + verb.
Patterns
- it is refreshing to do something
- a refreshing change
It's refreshing to hear a politician admit a mistake.
The film is a refreshing change from the usual superhero sequels.
Her refreshing honesty surprised the whole team.
Word forms
| comparative | more refreshing |
|---|---|
| superlative | most refreshing |
Common combinations
- refreshing change
- The quiet weekend was a refreshing change from the busy week.
- refreshing drink
- Iced tea is a refreshing drink in summer.
- refreshing honesty
- The coach spoke with refreshing honesty.
- refreshing breeze
- A refreshing breeze came off the lake.
- refreshingly different
- The menu is refreshingly different from other restaurants.
Synonyms and how they differ
- invigorating
- Invigorating suggests a stronger boost of energy, often from exercise or cold air.
- bracing
- Bracing usually refers to cold, fresh air or a mild shock that wakes you up.
- cooling
- Cooling only describes lowering temperature, without the lifting of mood or energy that refreshing implies.
- novel
- Novel means new and original but lacks the welcome, relieved tone of refreshing.
Opposites
Word family
- refresh verb
- to make fresh or reload
- refreshment noun
- food or drink
- refreshingly adverb
- in a refreshing way
- refreshed adjective
- feeling energetic again
Commonly confused: refreshing or refreshed?
refreshing vs refreshed
Refreshed describes how a person feels, while refreshing describes what causes that feeling.
Practice
After the long hike, the cold stream felt very ____.
Choose one answer.
The stream causes the feeling, so refreshing is correct. Refreshed would describe the hikers, not the stream.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “refreshing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.