desiccate
1
9.5
- adjective
- /ˈdɛsɪˌkeɪt/
- Formal
- The lecturer's desiccated delivery made the fascinating topic feel lifeless and dull.
Examples
-
His desiccated enthusiasm for the project made it difficult to motivate the team.
-
After years in an uninspiring office, she felt desiccated and craved a new passion for her work.
-
And now we have desiccated nurses who call them corridor nurses and they're in the corridor and they're looking after patients on trolleys.
Synonyms
44
3.8
A gloomy, boring time that makes you feel sad or tired
17
7.9
Not interesting or lively and often boring
3
7.8
Having little energy or feeling and seeming lifeless
2
8.6
To make someone feel bored and without energy or interest
2
6.3
Not interesting and without energy or life
1
9.9
A dull, cold, and depressing place or scene
1
5.1
Less strong so a feeling or pain is not as intense
Antonyms
How Lively
Surface Forms
Morphology
desiccate = de + sicc + ate
The morphological structure is the same as the verb 'desiccate', but the adjective sense ('lacking vitality') is a figurative extension of 'dry', so the connection is partly inferable but not fully transparent.
Etymology
Desiccate as an adjective comes from the same Latin de- 'completely' and siccare 'to dry', so picture a plant that is 'dried up'. That's why calling writing or a person desiccate means they seem dry, lifeless, or without energy.