desiccated

adjective

des·​ic·​cat·​ed ˈde-si-ˌkā-təd 

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 desiccated …

—Margaret 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

Owens Lake was left desiccated after Los Angeles began tapping the eastern Sierra watershed for its own needs more than a century ago. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2025

The meager pinches of ginger and garlic that went into the pot came desiccated, in jars. —Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 22 May 2025

The scene in question came from King's Quest III, where our hero Gwydion must acquire some exceptionally desiccated acorns to advance the plot. —ArsTechnica, 17 May 2025

Sure enough, Margarito worked open the bag’s knot and found, amid desiccated coca leaves, a pair of ancient cigarettes rolled in centuries-old paper—an echo of the previous night’s ceremony. —Sam Kean, The Atlantic, 26 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1