coagulate

[koh-ag-yuh-leyt, koh-ag-yuh-lit, -leyt]

verb (used with or without object)

coagulated, coagulating 

1. to change from a fluid into a thickened mass; curdle; congeal.

   Let the pudding stand two hours until it coagulates.

   Synonyms: thicken, solidify, set, clot

2. Biology.,  (of blood) to form a clot.

3. Physical Chemistry.,  (of colloidal particles) to flocculate or cause to flocculate by adding an electrolyte to an electrostatic colloid.

adjective

1. Obsolete.,  coagulated.

coagulate

/ kəʊˈæɡjʊlətɪv /

verb

1. to cause (a fluid, such as blood) to change into a soft semisolid mass or (of such a fluid) to change into such a mass; clot; curdle

2. chem to separate or cause to separate into distinct constituent phases

noun

1. the solid or semisolid substance produced by coagulation

Other Word Forms

• coagulation noun
• coagulatory adjective
• coagulative adjective
• anticoagulating adjective
• anticoagulation noun
• noncoagulating adjective
• noncoagulation noun
• noncoagulative adjective
• recoagulate verb
• recoagulation noun
• uncoagulated adjective
• uncoagulating adjective
• uncoagulative adjective
• coagulability noun
• coagulable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of coagulate¹

1350–1400 for earlier past participle senses “solidified, clotted,” 1605–15 coagulate for def. 1; Middle English < Latin coāgulāt ( us ) (past participle of coāgulāre ), equivalent to coāgul ( um ) coagulum + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of coagulate¹

C16: from Latin coāgulāre to make (a liquid) curdle, from coāgulum rennet, from cōgere to drive together

Example Sentences

Cream-based dips can get coagulated in the heat and stiff in the cold, especially if you don’t have a portable heating device, so a neutral mixed bean dip is definitely the way to go.

From Salon

Pumpkin and pecan pie are both custards in my book and they should be baked at a lower temperature to gently and evenly coagulate the eggs.

From Salon

Rennet, an enzyme naturally present in the stomachs of ruminants, would prompt the milk to coagulate, separating into curds and whey, thus laying the groundwork for modern cheese production.

From Salon

If the already bleak mood among Tory MPs is going to coagulate into action - an attempt to topple him - it is perhaps most likely to happen then.

From BBC

“What we are seeing is due to reentry of material—a mixture of burned-up meteors and spacecraft, which slowly coagulates to form particles that settle through the atmosphere,” he says.

From Scientific American