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Glite Dictionary
🌱 To weaken by darkness 😶‍🌫️ To make pale and weak
to etiolate

to etiolate

9.9
To make a plant grow pale and weak because of too little light
  • verb
  • /ˈiːtiəˌleɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : etiolar
  • The plant began to etiolate in the dark room.

Examples

  • When celery is grown in the dark, it can quickly become etiolated and lose its green color.

  • The gardener noticed that the seedlings had etiolated due to being kept in a shaded greenhouse.

  • If you etiolate your houseplants by placing them in a closet, they will become weak and yellowish.

  • Without enough sunlight, the flowers will etiolate quickly.

  • During the winter months, many flowers will etiolate if they do not receive enough sunlight.

  • The seedlings began to etiolate as they stretched towards the dim light in the corner of the room.

  • If you keep your plants indoors with little light, they are likely to etiolate and lose their vibrant color.

Antonyms

to thrive
241 3.2

To grow well and be successful

to flourish
116 4.1

To grow strongly and be healthy or successful

How Pale

to etiolate
  • Specialized
9.9
to fade
531 1.2

Surface Forms

etiolate infinitive
etiolated past
etiolated past participle
etiolating present participle
etiolates third person singular

Morphology

etiolate = etiolation (opaque) = etiol + ate

Although related to the noun 'etiolation', the productive stem 'etiol' is not a standalone, familiar English base, and the verb is specialized botanical vocabulary, so learners cannot reliably infer the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

Etiolate comes from French étioler, which meant 'to make pale' for young plants; imagine a seedling kept in a dark cupboard growing long, thin and yellow. So to etiolate a plant is to make it pale and weak by lack of light.