desiccating

verb

present participle of desiccate
1
as in undermining
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality that historian's dryasdust prose desiccates what is actually an exciting period in European history

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2
as in drying
to make dry add a cup of desiccated coconut to the mix

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of desiccating In the Rocky Mountains, years of extreme heat and drought have baked the landscape, drying up streams that feed the Colorado River and desiccating pastures where cattle graze. — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026 Suddenly, pest populations are large enough to make a meaningful impact, and one too many afternoons of 100+ degree weather have begun desiccating leaves. — Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 2 Aug. 2026 Improving safety in the field Key innovations for the new tissue include the ability to hold water at room temperature for months on end without desiccating or needing refridgeration. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 July 2026 By desiccating vegetation, the drought has already fueled severe wildfires, with 116,000 hectares burned in Spain and 42,000 hectares burned in France, according to the WWA report. — Sanidhya Sharma, Scientific American, 24 July 2026 Another advantage of long and narrow leaves is their ability to withstand heavy rainfall and battering or desiccating winds. — Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 4 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for desiccating
  1. undermining
  2. drying
  3. draining
  4. weakening
  5. exhausting
  6. dehydrating
  7. enervating
  8. deadening
Verb
  • Fighting escalated late last month, undermining the November 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Private equity firms also sometimes own both physician staffing firms and Independent Dispute Resolution entities, creating a conflict of interest and undermining the law's fairness.
    — Anna Schecter, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of undermining
Verb
  • Some with alcohol or actives can feel drying, and Buechner suggested pairing them with a leave-in conditioner.
    — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Its lightweight, fast-drying formula is infused with a nourishing lineup—squalane and macadamia and jojoba oils, to name a few—that leaves skin hydrated and streak-free from start to finish.
    — Madison San Miguel, Allure, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of drying
Verb
  • Oak Lawn Mayor Terry Vorderer previously said investigating video gambling terminal thefts was draining village resources.
    — Olivia Stevens, Chicago Tribune, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Under President Joe Biden, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered Tel*Link to pay $3 million for illegally freezing and draining funds from incarcerated people’s accounts.
    — Gaby Del Valle, The Verge, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of draining
Verb
  • Mortgage demand continues to drop sharply, as buyers face higher prices and weakening affordability.
    — Diana Olick, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The upper-level trough over the western United States will gradually advance eastward, weakening the influence of the ridge that has kept us hot and relatively dry.
    — Michael Autovino, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • The gentle squeeze around your legs provides other surprising health benefits on exhausting travel days.
    — Olivia Young, Travel + Leisure, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Commanders should seek positional advantages without exhausting their soldiers, manipulate the enemy’s movements when possible, and recognize when circumstances make pursuit or attack unwise.
    — Ethan Teekah, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of exhausting
Verb
  • Antihistamines have a general dehydrating effect that also reduces tear production.
    — Nancy LeBrun, Verywell Health, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In addition to air-frying, the Joule also has toasting, baking, broiling, roasting, proofing, reheating, slow cooking, warming and dehydrating functions, as well as settings for bagels, pizza and cookies.
    — BestReviews, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of dehydrating
Verb
  • Campbell, the North Carolina folk singer, describes an enervating process marked by back-and-forth exchanges and lots of waiting.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Jenny deflected me with enervating ease.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
Definition of enervating
Verb
  • Inside the cabin, extensive additional sound deadening in the doors, trunk and wheel arches means phone calls and passenger conversations are entirely effortless at highway speeds.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Each presents a group portrait of a handful of disaffected British suburbanites—husbands who resent their deadening jobs, toddlers who whine and interrupt, and, above all, hassled wives subsumed by a crush of household obligations.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of deadening

Browse Nearby Words

desiccates
desiccating
desiderata
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Cite this Entry

“Desiccating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/desiccating. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

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