The Meaning of Refurbished: What It Is and How To Use It

What is the meaning of refurbished? This article shall teach you all about how to use the word refurbished and its origin.

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Do you have refurbished electronics or furniture in your home? Have you seen the word refurbished in stores and not known what it means? Learn how to shop for the best-quality used items with this lesson on lingo from The Word Counter.

What Does the Word Refurbished Mean?

According to Collins English Dictionary, the verb refurbish means to freshen up, renovate, or renew something that is old. Refurbished can either be used as the past tense of the word refurbish, or it can be used as an adjective to describe something that has been refurbished. Other forms of the word refurbished include refurbishes, refurbishing, or the noun refurbishment. 

The word refurbish is often used to talk about items like electronics, cars, and furniture. If someone is selling a refurbished piece of electronics, automotive equipment, or furniture, that means it has been used before but has been restored to a working condition. Often, retailers will have a certified refurbished program where you can buy products at a lower price that are used but in proper condition.

What Is the Etymology of Refurbished?

The word refurbish has been used in English since the 1610s. This word comes from the prefix re-, which means again, and the word furbish. The word furbish is a late 14th-century word that means to polish or renew.

Furbish has its roots in the Old French forbiss, which is the present participle stem of the verb forbir, meaning to polish or mend. In modern French, this is the verb fourbit. This has similarities to the Old High German durban, from the Proto-Germanic furbjan and the Proto-Indo-European root prep.

What Are Translations of the Word Refurbished?

Perhaps you are looking to buy or sell refurbished furniture, automobiles, or electronics from a person who does not speak English. In this case, it is important that you know many translations of the word refurbished so that no one gets confused. 

By studying this list of translations of the word refurbished, you can communicate with people all over the world about things that are refurbished:

  • Slovene: obnoviti‎
  • Dutch: opkalefateren‎, renoveren‎, opknappen‎
  • Greek: ανακαινίζω‎
  • Italian: rinnovare‎, ammodernare‎
  • Arabic: جَدَّدَ‎, صقل‎
  • Hungarian: felújít‎
  • Chinese – Mandarin: 翻新‎ (fānxīn), 刷新‎ (shuāxīn)
  • German: wiederaufarbeiten‎, restaurieren‎, ge­ne­ral­über­ho­len‎
  • Polish: odświeżać‎, odnawiać‎
  • Norwegian: pusse‎ opp‎
  • Spanish: restaurar‎
  • Portuguese: restaurar‎
  • Japanese: 改装‎
  • French: renouveler‎, restaurer‎
  • Russian: восстана́вливать‎, обновля́ть‎
  • Finnish: kunnostaa‎, remontoida‎

How Can You Use the Word Refurbished in a Sentence?

You can use the word refurbished in many sentences and contexts in the English language, but it is most commonly used to refer to objects like electronics. You can study the example sentences below to learn how to use the word refurbished in context. Then, when you are buying or selling different products, you will know how to use the word refurbished: 

Retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Apple products have a guarantee that their refurbished products will have a one-year warranty to cover repairs such as scratches, dents, a new battery, or an issue with the hard drive.

We have always decided to buy different things as refurbished items because they are a good deal. My refurbished TV, appliances, cameras, refurbished iPhone and other smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other refurbished electronics and gadgets all met quality standards and the legal requirement for resellers.

Apple Certified Refurbished Products all go through a rigorous refurbishment process so that customers can get the best deal with no defects, unlike what someone might find on the back market, online marketplace, or another vendor.

The new gadgets and cables we bought at the Apple Store and Dell outlet had better seller’s terms than the ones we bought on eBay, which had a shorter warranty on the device.

What Are Synonyms of the Word Refurbished?

The word refurbished has a fairly specific meaning and is commonly associated with electronics or furniture. If you are looking to describe something that has been fixed or revitalized but do not want to use the word refurbished, you can use one of the below synonyms from the list from Power Thesaurus

Synonyms can also be helpful words to know if you are trying not to use the same word over and over again or if you are looking for a word with a different connotation.

  • fixed
  • freshen up
  • furbished
  • innovated
  • mended
  • modernized
  • overhaul
  • overhauled
  • permutated
  • re-established
  • rebuilt
  • recondition
  • reconditioned
  • redevelop
  • refitted
  • reformed
  • refreshed
  • regenerated
  • rehabilitate
  • rehabilitated
  • rejuvenated
  • remodeled
  • renewed
  • renovate
  • renovated
  • repaired
  • restocked
  • restored
  • revamp
  • revamped

What Are Antonyms of the Word Refurbished?

There are also several words that have the opposite meaning of the word refurbished, according to Power Thesaurus. You can use this list of antonyms of refurbished to describe something that is brand new and that has not had any repairs done to it. Try using one of these antonyms of refurbished today!

  • added
  • additional
  • advanced
  • afresh
  • all the rage
  • avant-garde
  • brand new
  • contemporary
  • current
  • different
  • extra
  • fresh
  • freshly
  • further
  • green
  • immature
  • inexperienced
  • innovative
  • late
  • lately
  • latest
  • modern
  • modernistic
  • modish
  • more
  • new
  • newborn
  • newfangled
  • newly
  • novel
  • original
  • other
  • present-day
  • raw
  • recent
  • recently
  • regenerated
  • renewed
  • virgin
  • young

Conclusion

The word refurbished means renewed or mended, and it usually describes things like electronics or furniture that have been repaired to a usable state. Many companies have certified refurbished programs in which you can purchase things like appliances, electronics, and other used items for a fraction of the cost. However, they are still in working condition and often come with a limited-time warranty.

Sources:

  1. Refurbished Synonyms | Power Thesaurus 
  2. New Synonyms | Power Thesaurus 
  3. Refurbish definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary