desiccate

verb

des·​ic·​cate ˈde-si-ˌkāt 

desiccated; desiccating

transitive verb

1

: to dry up

the desiccated land

2

: to preserve (a food) by drying : dehydrate

desiccated coconut

3

: to drain of emotional or intellectual vitality

… a charming little romance … not desiccated and compressed within the pages of a book

—Elinor Wylie

intransitive verb

: to become dried up

leaves desiccating in winter

Lake Valencia has been … steadily desiccating for more than 200 years.

—J. Platt Bradbury et al.

desiccative

ˈde-si-ˌkā-tiv 

adjective

desiccator

ˈde-si-ˌkā-tər 

noun

Did you know?

Raisins are desiccated grapes; they're also dehydrated grapes. And yet, a close look at the etymologies of desiccate and dehydrate raises a tangly question. In Latin siccus means "dry," whereas the Greek stem hydr- means "water." So how could it be that desiccate and dehydrate are synonyms? The answer is in the multiple identities of the prefix de-. It may look like the same prefix, but the de- in desiccate means "completely, thoroughly," as in despoil ("to spoil utterly") or denude ("to strip completely bare"). The de- in dehydrate, on the other hand, means "remove," the same as it does in defoliate ("to strip of leaves") or in deice ("to rid of ice").

Synonyms

• castrate
• damp
• dampen
• deaden
• dehydrate
• devitalize
• enervate
• geld
• lobotomize
• petrify

Examples of desiccate in a Sentence

that historian's dryasdust prose desiccates what is actually an exciting period in European history

add a cup of desiccated coconut to the mix

Recent Examples on the Web

Not only that, but decades of persistent drought and warming temperatures have desiccated reservoirs along the Rio Grande and its tributary, the Chama River. —Laura Paskus, The Denver Post, 11 Mar. 2025

Notes of old cream sherry, desiccated coconut, and toffee add complexity. —Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2025

Global warming has desiccated California, which was never known for its copious water supply. —Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 14 Jan. 2025

With vegetation desiccated, any spark—from power lines, machinery, or natural causes like lightning—can ignite a fire. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin desiccatus, past participle of desiccare to dry up, from de- + siccare to dry, from siccus dry — more at sack

First Known Use

1575, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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Medical Definition

desiccate

verb

des·​ic·​cate ˈdes-i-ˌkāt 

desiccated; desiccating

transitive verb

1

: to dry up or cause to dry up : deprive or exhaust of moisture

especially : to dry thoroughly

uses radio frequencies of 100,000 Hz to 10,000,000 Hz to cut, coagulate, and desiccate tissue

—Bettyann Hutchisson et al.

2

: to preserve a food by drying : dehydrate

desiccated coconut

intransitive verb

: to become dried up : undergo a desiccating process