vegetate

verb veg·e·tate \ ˈve-jə-ˌtāt \

Definition of vegetate

vegetated; vegetating

intransitive verb

1 :to lead a passive existence without exertion of body or mind

2 a :to grow in the manner of a plant; also :to grow exuberantly or with proliferation of fleshy or warty outgrowths

b :to produce vegetation

transitive verb

:to establish vegetation in or on

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Examples of vegetate in a Sentence

I just spent the weekend vegetating at home.
I'm worried that after I retire I'll just sit at home, watch TV, and vegetate.

Recent Examples of vegetate from the Web

Initial Chinese news reports contained no suggestion that officials had been warned that the steep, thinly vegetated hillside could collapse.

— chris buckley and javier c. hernÁndez, New York Times, "Hopes Fade After Landslide Destroys Chinese Village," 24 June 2017
The water settles into three biofiltration pools and vegetated beds below the light showers, after which it can be safely used by park goers.

— barbara sadick, WSJ, "A New Look for Urban Utility Structures," 14 Apr. 2017
For them, as for most of us, plants were just there in the background, vegetating away.

— National Geographic, "There Is Such a Thing as Plant Intelligence," 21 Feb. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vegetate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of vegetate

borrowed from Late Latin vegetātus, past participle of vegetāre "to live, grow," going back to Latin, "to impart energy to, invigorate," verbal derivative of vegetus "vigorous, active, lively," probably, if from *vegitus, verbal adjective of vegēre "to give vigor to, enliven" — more at ¹wake

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First Known Use: 1605

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VEGETATE Defined for English Language Learners

vegetate

verb

Definition of vegetate for English Language Learners

: to spend time doing things that do not require much thought or effort : to be very lazy or inactive

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