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Glite Dictionary
🌵 To dry out 😑 Lifeless or dull
to desiccate

to desiccate

12 9.0
To dry something so it does not go bad
  • verb
  • /ˈdɛsɪˌkeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : desecar
  • First of all, it is so much smaller, as though it had shrunk like a desiccated plant.
  • desiccated land
  • desiccated algae
  • desiccated in the dark

Examples

  • The knife slipped easily through the desiccated skin and underlying flesh.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • When a corpse is left out, the elements wither it, desiccate it, twisting it into a distorted figure that is barely recognizable as a human being.

    Mama (2013)

  • And at a certain point he started to wonder, could I dry it out and desiccate it and more efficiently deal with it that way, Right.

  • And thousands had left their homes, their farms, their desiccated lives, for the chance at a better one.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The body was desiccated, it was totally drained of blood.

    Arachnophobia (1990)

  • Its fields, ravaged by war and desiccating winds, were covered everywhere by blood and smoke.

    Academic text (2018)

  • To avoid the cold and desiccating dryness, the three had huddled under one of the hide tents.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • For the next course, they chopped up desiccated spiders from the Roses' cellar and mixed them with Hawaiian Punch.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • A few old stiff spiny stalks still remained, dotted with desiccated red berries.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The heat of the sun can quickly desiccate flowers, causing them to lose their vibrant colors.

Synonyms

to dry
vsto desiccate
570 1.0

To become free of water or wetness

is used when moisture removal aims mainly to preserve or protect items
to dry up
vsto desiccate
19 2.7

To lose all water or moisture so it has none left

can imply natural loss and shriveling rather than deliberate preservation
to dry out
vsto desiccate
11 2.4

To become dry or make something no longer wet

often implies drying specifically to preserve rather than just drying after wetness
to dehydrate
vsto desiccate
1 4.8

Remove almost all water from food to keep it for longer

can mean drying generally and not always removing all water
to freeze-dry
vsto desiccate
  • Specialized
1 4.4

To keep food for a long time by freezing it and then removing its water

uses drying for preservation but not that specific cold vacuum technique
to parch
vsto desiccate
1 7.0

Make something very dry from heat or sun

focuses on intense heat drying rather than drying for preservation
to exsiccate
vsto desiccate
  • Specialized
9.9

To remove all water from something so it stays dry

is used when drying aims to preserve things rather than only to become dry

Antonyms

to hydrate
34 3.3

To add water to something or to take water into the body

to moisten
7 3.0

To make something a little wet

How Dry

to parch
1 7.0
to desiccate
  • Specialized
12 9.0
to dehydrate
5 4.1
to dry out
11 2.4
to dry
570 1.0

Surface Forms

desiccate infinitive
desiccated past
desiccated past participle
desiccating present participle
desiccates third person singular

Morphology

desiccate = de + sicc + ate

Formed from Latin combining elements (de- + sicc- + -ate) that are not productive or recognizable to an average B1 learner, so the meaning 'to dry out' is not easily derived from its visible parts.

Etymology

Desiccate comes from Latin parts de- meaning 'completely' and siccare meaning 'to dry', from siccus 'dry'. So to desiccate is to make something completely dry, like turning fresh fruit into a light, dry snack for storage.