desalinate

verb

de·​sa·​li·​nate (ˌ)dē-ˈsa-lə-ˌnāt How to pronounce desalinate (audio)
 also  -ˈsā-
desalinated; desalinating
desalination noun
desalinator noun

Examples of desalinate in a Sentence

The company is building a plant that will desalinate seawater.
Recent Examples on the Web That figure is twice the cost of desalinating seawater in California, but Bourcier says the real cost is likely much lower, perhaps as low as 50 cents per cubic meter. IEEE Spectrum, 25 Nov. 2014 Intel, for instance, is targeting net positive water use globally by 2030, in part based on plans to desalinate and treat seawater and rainwater. Rebecca Heilweil, WIRED, 19 July 2023 The plant would desalinate the water, probably using reverse osmosis, a common filtering technique. Rob L. Evans, Scientific American, 15 June 2023 Now, faced with declining water levels, Iran has turned to new technical solutions, like transferring water from one area to another and desalinating seawater, an energy-intensive and polluting practice. Leily Nikounazar, New York Times, 21 June 2023 Due to its delicate nature, the remnants of the ship will be desalinated in Croatia and then passed along to the Arc-Nucléart workshop in France, which specializes in restoring cultural artifacts, per IFLScience. Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 22 June 2023 The displaced water, meanwhile, can be put to good use—assuming it can be desalinated. IEEE Spectrum, 25 Nov. 2014 San Diego and El Paso, Tex., are already desalinating brackish groundwater. Rob L. Evans, Scientific American, 15 June 2023 About 42 percent of water in the United Arab Emirates is desalinated, as is about 60 percent of Qatar's water. The Week Staff, The Week, 12 Feb. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desalinate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of desalinate was in 1949

Dictionary Entries Near desalinate

Cite this Entry

“Desalinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desalinate. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

Kids Definition

desalinate

verb
de·​sa·​li·​nate (ˈ)dē-ˈsal-ə-ˌnāt How to pronounce desalinate (audio)
 also  -ˈsā-lə-
desalinated; desalinating
: desalt
desalination
(ˌ)dē-ˌsal-ə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce desalinate (audio)
 also  -ˌsā-lə-
noun
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