RAREFIED

adj. 1 thin, lean, attenuated, diluted, sparse, scant, scanty As we climbed higher, the rarefied atmosphere made breathing more difficult 2 exalted, lofty, elevated, high, sublime, noble, high I feel out of place in the rarefied atmosphere of academia 3 cliquish, clannish, exclusive, private, select, esoteric Clarence copes well in the rarefied atmosphere of Whitehall's corridors of power