desiccated

adjective

des·​ic·​cat·​ed ˈde-si-ˌkā-təd How to pronounce desiccated (audio)
1
: dried up
a desiccated landscape
: preserved by drying
a cup of desiccated coconut
… all around were barrels of dried apples and apricots, shriveled and desiccatedMargaret Laurence
… when visitors come to the lab he likes to show them his collection of curiosities, which includes a desiccated octopus.Elizabeth Kolbert
2
: drained of emotional or intellectual vigor or vitality
Singer's utilitarianism is so dry and desiccated that it drains the drama from philosophy.George F. Will

Examples of desiccated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web This desiccated river has become the unlikely locale for a massive riparian development that is planned for over 40 km along its banks and is being labeled the world’s largest riparian development scheme. Saleem H. Ali, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024 Yet which species disappeared in the crisis, and which ones rebounded when further tectonic shifts allowed the desiccated basin to refill, remained unclear. science.org, 25 Sep. 2024 From the air, though, much of the river corridor still appears desiccated, treeless and up against commercial orchards, subdivisions and highways. Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 30 Sep. 2024 For example, a planet a little bit warmer than Earth—perhaps orbiting a hotter star or closer to a cooler star—could wind up with a runaway greenhouse effect that boils its oceans and eventually heats its desiccated surface to the melting point of lead. Phil Plait, Scientific American, 7 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for desiccated 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'desiccated.' 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

1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of desiccated was in 1670

Dictionary Entries Near desiccated

Cite this Entry

“Desiccated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desiccated. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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