emulsify

American  

[ih-muhl-suh-fahy] / ɪˈmʌl səˌfaɪ /

verb (used with or without object)

• emulsifies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• emulsified,
  past participle,  past
• emulsifying
  present participle

1. to make into or form an emulsion.

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emulsify British  

/ ɪˈmʌlsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to make or form into an emulsion

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Usage

What does emulsify mean? To emulsify is to form an emulsion—a mixture of two liquids that don’t fully combine. An emulsion may look like a single liquid, but it’s made up of particles of one liquid distributed throughout another liquid. For example, if you emulsify oil and water, it forms an emulsion in which small droplets of oil are suspended in the water, but the two liquids aren’t fully blended together (as they would be if you stirred together water and vinegar, for example). In technical chemistry terms, an emulsion is a colloidal suspension in which the substances mixed together are both liquids. Both colloids and suspensions involve particles of one substance distributed in another without being dissolved. Emulsions are used in a variety of contexts, including pharmacology, cooking, and photography. In cooking, liquids or liquid-like ingredients are emulsified in order to make sauces with a smooth consistency. A common example of an emulsion is the kind of salad dressings called a vinaigrette, which is made by emulsifying oil and vinegar. Example: To emulsify oil and vinegar, you have to whisk very hard to separate the oil into tiny droplets, or else the two liquids will separate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• emulsibility
  noun
• emulsifiability
  noun
• emulsification
  noun
• emulsifier
  noun
• emulsible
  adjective
• emulsifiable
  adjective
• unemulsified
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• emulsifying
  present
• emulsified
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• emulsify
  simple
• emulsifies
  simple
• have emulsified
  perfect
• has emulsified
  perfect
• am emulsifying
  progressive
• are emulsifying
  progressive
• is emulsifying
  progressive
• have been emulsifying
  perfect progressive
• has been emulsifying
  perfect progressive

Past

• emulsified
  simple
• had emulsified
  perfect
• was emulsifying
  progressive
• were emulsifying
  progressive
• had been emulsifying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will emulsify
  simple
• will have emulsified
  perfect
• will be emulsifying
  progressive
• will have been emulsifying
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of emulsify

First recorded in 1855–60; from Latin ēmuls(us) ( see emulsion) + -ify

Explanation

When you emulsify something, you mix it so thoroughly that it becomes an emulsion, or a mixture of two liquids that can't be completely blended together. Home cooks emulsify any time they make a good oil-based salad dressing, thoroughly mixing the oil with the vinegar or other liquid ingredients. While the oil, because it's not soluble, can't be completely combined with the vinegar, you can emulsify the two so that the tiny drops of oil are dispersed across the volume of vinegar and the texture of the salad dressing is satisfying. Emulsify comes from the Latin word emulsus, or "milked out."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

emulsify emulsifies emulsified emulsifying

The therapy is a diglyceride formulation -- two omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, bound to a glyceride molecule -- which enhances their ability to emulsify into tiny, concentrated particles.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 2024

Mustard adds to a vinaigrette in two ways: It adds heat, flavor and dimension, and it helps emulsify or thicken the dressing.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 2, 2023

Turn blender on medium low and slowly emulsify the oil into the blender.

From Salon ● May 25, 2023

“The Good John Proctor” shares DNA with Monahon’s other plays, which thoroughly emulsify history and fiction to give voice to previously marginal figures or to connect historical events to our moment.

From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023

Weigh out powdered agar, 5 grammes, emulsify with 100 c.c., cold distilled water and add to the contents of the flask.

From The Elements of Bacteriological Technique A Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by J. W. H. (John William Henry) Eyre

But you'd only be partially correct since the turn emulsifies the supernatural into the ludicrous.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2023

The mixture will split at first, but keep on whisking until it emulsifies.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2021

Mr. Cruz uses grapefruit juice to add depth to the orange, and that grassy juice emulsifies with the pork fat, stained with achiote, to form a kind of liquor.

From New York Times ● Jul. 20, 2021

Did you know molasses emulsifies the olive oil and keeps the little fat molecules from stumbling into each other, thus allowing the oil and vinegar to mix?

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 6, 2020

It furthermore emulsifies the fat or divides it into extremely fine drops.

From Papers on Health by Edward Bruce Kirk

Even a simple vinaigrette could become something a little more luxe, fully emulsified.

From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2026

The team says that result confirmed the hypothesis that VFD processing could be a "green" one-step technique for more stable, emulsified viscous liquids.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 2024

According to the Journal of Food Science, the ethanol also helps more evenly disperse the fat, keeping the emulsified sauce bound, glossy and creamy.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 21, 2023

Pulse several times to combine, then, with the motor running, slowly add the peanut oil and process until the dressing is emulsified.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 8, 2023

If fats are emulsified by means of soap, one might ask where the soap comes from in the process of digestion.

From School and Home Cooking by Carlotta Cherryholmes Greer

“American cheese is made with sodium citrate, an emulsifying salt that keeps the cheese creamy and smooth when melted,” she said.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2025

You can also apply an emulsifying ointment or olive or coconut oil – not inside – to act as a moisturiser.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 8, 2019

Therefore, emulsions are usually stabilized by an emulsifying agent, a substance that inhibits the coalescence of the dispersed liquid.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 14, 2019

“Mmm, I like that,” Fain said of the avocado dressing, which is made by emulsifying the brand’s guacamole with red wine vinegar.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 27, 2017

This milk it cannot digest because the emulsifying element, the fat, is not present in it in sufficient quantity in proportion to the coagulable matter.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 392, July 7, 1883 by Various