Definition of desiccate
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.
Explore M-W
desiccate was our Word of the Day on 04/19/2015. Hear the podcast!
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
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 of desiccate from the Web
-
The sea separated from the world’s oceans 5.6 million years ago and was desiccated by evaporation in a period geologists call the Messinian salinity crisis.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'desiccate'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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").
Origin and Etymology of desiccate
Latin desiccatus, past participle of desiccare to dry up, from de- + siccare to dry, from siccus dry — more at sack
First Known Use: 1575
Medical Dictionary
desiccate
playMedical Definition of desiccate
desiccated
;desiccating
1
transitive verb
: 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 al2: to preserve a food by drying : dehydrate desiccated coconut
intransitive verb
: to become dried up : undergo a desiccating process
Learn More about desiccate
-
See words that rhyme with desiccate Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for desiccate Spanish Central: Translation of desiccate Nglish: Translation of desiccate for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of desiccate for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up desiccate? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!