What does "refreshing" mean?

1. (restoring energy) making you feel less hot or tired. 2. (pleasantly different) pleasantly new or different from what you usually see or hear. 3. (updating or cooling) the action of making something fresh again or updating a computer screen.

refreshing

adj. · v.

US //ɹɪˈfɹɛʃɪŋ// UK //ɹɪfɹˈɛʃɪŋ// re·fresh·ing

1 restoring energy (adj.)
B1 Intermediate

making you feel less hot or tired.

serving to restore strength or animation; providing a cooling or restorative effect.

Example

A refreshing glass of cold lemonade is perfect on a hot summer afternoon.

Example

After the long hike through the humid valley, the cool breeze from the summit was incredibly refreshing for the exhausted group.
- invigorating
- restorative
- cooling
- tiring
- exhausting
2 pleasantly different (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

pleasantly new or different from what you usually see or hear.

pleasantly new, different, or honest in a way that contrasts with a previous state or common expectation.

Example

It was refreshing to hear a politician speak so honestly about the problems.

Example

The candidate's refreshing lack of pretension stood in stark contrast to the carefully managed personas of his political rivals.
- predictable
- stale

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3 updating or cooling (v.)
B1 Intermediate Computing

the action of making something fresh again or updating a computer screen.

the present participle of 'refresh', used for the act of restoring vitality or updating a digital display to show new data.

Example

I kept refreshing the page to see if the concert tickets were on sale yet.

Example

By constantly refreshing the browser window, she managed to secure a reservation just as the system released the final block of rooms.
- updating
- reloading

Origin

By surface analysis, refresh + -ing.