Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Rarefy

Rarefy (rar"e*fī; 277) , transitive verb

[French raréfier; Latin rarus rare + -ficare (in comp.) to make; compare Latin rarefacere. See -fy.]

To make rare, thin, porous, or less dense; to expand or enlarge without adding any new portion of matter to; -- opposed to condense.

Rarefy , intransitive verb

To become less dense; to become thin and porous.
Earth rarefies to dew. — Dryden