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to melt

to melt

66 2.8
To become less strong little by little
  • verb
  • /mɛlt/
: desvanecerse
  • I can just feel my anxiety melting away.
  • melt away

So, so part of my ideology melted away rather quickly.

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Examples

  • It's just that everything that had seemed so magical when I married Josh somehow just melted away.

  • But my initial anger at the prospect of being fired melted quickly into relief.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • These cases are the ones that absolutely melt my heart.

  • Her skin felt as if it were melting where he touched it.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Yes, Doug, how do you not just melt when you watch the Puppy Bowl?

  • A poet's eyes cause a girl's heart to melt, a mother's heart to weep.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The resentment he'd harbored toward her had melted away with the press of her lips against his.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Snowden quotes a Greek epigrammatist, Asclepiades, "Gazing at her beauty, I melt like wax before the fire."

    Academic text (1995)
  • Watching the puppy play with the children made my worries melt away.

  • The actor's emotional performance caused the audience's defenses to melt.

Synonyms

to disappear
vsto melt
∞ 1.0

To stop being seen or to no longer be there

describes gradual lessening of intensity specifically, not simple vanishing
to fade
vsto melt
454 1.2

To slowly become less visible, bright, or loud

covers gradual reduction of intensity especially in emotions or qualities
to wear off
vsto melt
106 4.0

An effect or feeling that becomes less strong and then stops

applies to effects or feelings that lessen over time rather than vanish suddenly
to fade away
vsto melt
86 3.0

To become weaker and then disappear over time

describes feelings growing less intense over time rather than sudden loss
to dissipate
vsto melt
59 6.8

To make something spread out and disappear, for example fog or tension

means feelings fade without implying physical dispersion or scattering
to evaporate
vsto melt
46 4.1

Gradually become less strong until a feeling is gone

is used for feelings or conditions that fade away gradually
to dissolve
vsto melt
36 3.9

To slowly disappear or become less clear

is focused on feelings and qualities becoming less intense rather than physical separation
to die away
vsto melt
9 4.2

To become quieter and then stop

is about feelings or qualities becoming less intense and fading slowly
to pass off
vsto melt
1 3.9

To become less strong over time

is the same fading but used mainly for discomforts or bad moods

Antonyms

120 4.1

To make a feeling, effect or situation stronger

99 4.0

Make something stronger or more intense

Idioms

Seems very innocent and quiet but is not really kind

So soft and tender that it disappears when you eat it

Phrasal Verbs

28 3.0

Make a solid become liquid by heating it

18 6.9

Lose control emotionally or fail completely because it gets too hot

to melt off
  • Informal
1 4.1

To lose extra body weight slowly until it goes away

Compounds

ice melt
  • Specialized
5 3.5

Ice changing into water in large areas like glaciers and sea ice

1 3.4

A salt or liquid used to make ice become water on roads and sidewalks

How Intense

to vanish
392 3.0
to melt
66 2.8
to subside
52 4.8
to lessen
72 2.8
to ease
309 2.1

Surface Forms

melt infinitive
melted past
melted past participle
melting present participle
melts third person singular

Etymology

Melt comes from the old English meltan, meaning 'to become soft'. That idea of 'softening' explains why feelings can melt: they slowly become less strong and disappear.