processed

adjective

pro·​cessed ˈprä-ˌsest 

ˈprō-,

-səst

: having been subjected to a special process or treatment (as in the course of manufacture)

Just as processed food has been robbed of its nutrients, processed hair has been robbed of much of its health.

—Essence

The mythical fountain of youth now is filled with white tea. The pale, minimally processed Chinese tea is being pitched as the next great thing for drinking and as a cosmetics ingredient.

—The Grand Rapids (Michigan) Press

The main dietary sources of sodium are common salt used in cooking and for seasoning and especially the increased amount of sodium compounds used in processed foods.

—Sue Rodwell Williams

Examples of processed in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

When most of your diet consists of nutrient-dense unprocessed or minimally processed foods, with plenty of fruits and vegetables, eating an ultra-processed food occasionally isn’t the end of the world, Silberman says. —Erica Sweeney, Men's Health, 13 July 2023

Black tea is the most processed and has the most caffeine; green tea is less processed and lighter in caffeine, and white tea the least processed. —Casey Barber, CNN, 13 June 2022

Hard and processed cheese are typically fine. —Susan Selasky, Detroit Free Press, 23 Feb. 2023

PaLM-E does this by analyzing data from the robot's camera without needing a pre-processed scene representation. —Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 7 Mar. 2023

One major step is to eat smaller amounts of processed and red meat. —Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2021

In 2019 Hall asked 20 volunteers to stay at a clinical research hospital in Bethesda where they would be fed a diet of only ultra-processed or whole foods for two weeks, then switch to the other diet for the subsequent two weeks. —WIRED, 22 Feb. 2023

Consistently choosing nutrient-dense, less processed, healthier food and drinking more water and fewer sugary drinks lead to weight loss. —Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 15 Feb. 2023

Lower-income people have always had disproportionate access to junk food and are frequently bombarded with ads for inexpensive, ultra-processed and fast foods, says Nancy Roman, president of the Partnership for a Healthier America. —Bloomberg Wire, Dallas News, 8 Sep. 2020

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Word History

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing processed

• processed cheese

• processed cheese