desalinate

verb

de·​sa·​li·​nate (ˌ)dē-ˈsa-lə-ˌnāt 

also -ˈsā-

desalinated; desalinating

transitive verb

: desalt

desalination

(ˌ)dē-ˌsa-lə-ˈnā-shən 

also -ˌsā-

noun

desalinator

(ˌ)dē-ˈsa-lə-ˌnā-tər 

also -ˈsā-

noun

Examples of desalinate in a Sentence

The company is building a plant that will desalinate seawater.

Recent Examples on the Web

The coflow process generates commercially valuable magnesium hydroxide, after which the leftover seawater, or regular seawater, is desalinated and split into acidic and alkaline byproducts. — New Atlas, 27 July 2026

Some are recycling wastewater and limiting when people can water their lawns, while others are desalinating ocean water. — Swasti Singhai, USA Today, 26 July 2026

According to the researchers at Zhejiang University in China, this new device maximizes lithium yield from seawater while simultaneously desalinating water. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 Feb. 2026

All those financial resources enhance the logic behind expensive projects like desalinating seawater and transporting it, desalinating local brackish groundwater or acquiring surplus water from some limited areas in California. — Austin Corona, AZCentral.com, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for desalinate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

desalinate

verb

de·​sa·​li·​nate (ˈ)dē-ˈsal-ə-ˌnāt 

also -ˈsā-lə-

desalinated; desalinating

: desalt

desalination

(ˌ)dē-ˌsal-ə-ˈnā-shən 

also -ˌsā-lə-

noun