congeal
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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congeals,
present (3rd person singular)
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congealed,
past participle, past
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congealing
present participle
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to change from a soft or fluid state to a rigid or solid state, as by cooling or freezing.
The fat congealed on the top of the soup.
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to curdle; coagulate, as a fluid.
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to make or become fixed, as ideas, sentiments, or principles.
Some philosophic systems lost their vitality and congealed.
verb
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to change or cause to change from a soft or fluid state to a firm or solid state
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to form or cause to form into a coagulated mass; curdle; jell
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(intr) (of ideas) to take shape or become fixed in form
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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congealabilitynoun
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congealablenessnoun
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congealednessnoun
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congealernoun
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congealmentnoun
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uncongealverb (used without object)
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congealableadjective
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half-congealedadjective
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noncongealingadjective
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uncongealableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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congealsimple
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congealssimple
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have congealedperfect
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has congealedperfect
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am congealingprogressive
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are congealingprogressive
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is congealingprogressive
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have been congealingperfect progressive
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has been congealingperfect progressive
Past
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congealedsimple
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had congealedperfect
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was congealingprogressive
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were congealingprogressive
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had been congealingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of congeal
1350–1400; Middle English congelen (< Middle French congeler ) < Latin congelāre, equivalent to con- con- + gelāre to freeze; see gelid
Explanation
Congeal means to jell — to solidify or become gelatinous. Sounds gross? But wiggly Jell-O is actually congealed liquid, so it can't be that bad, right? This word comes to us from the Old French word congeler, which means "to freeze." So when something congeals it goes from liquid to solid form, almost like freezing. No one usually likes congealed anything — whether it's chunkified old soup in the fridge or dried blood on a wound. See? Pretty gross. Jell-O is about as good as congealed gets!
Vocabulary lists containing congeal
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Aim for dishes that still taste perfectly fine when eaten lukewarm, that don’t seize up or congeal the moment they cool.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2026
Plastic wipes don't disintegrate when flushed down the toilet, so when oil and fat congeal on them, so-called fatbergs form in sewers, which water companies say cost them £200m a year to clear.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
“They kind of take the randomness and they congeal it back into the volume. That’s the way of going from randomness to content. And that’s how you can make random videos.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
This can create a fascinating doubling in the sense that there’s the movie in front of you and its layered references, all of which can flow together when they don’t congeal, which alas happens here.
From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2024
Despite the confident and providential statements of leaders like Paine, Jefferson, and Adams, the conclusions that look so foregone to us had yet to congeal for them.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
By episode 2, it congeals into something like a coherent picture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
To save money they might turn machines off when they are empty - meaning any residue goes bad or congeals in the system.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2021
One pictures 13-year-olds arguing in the lunchroom while the gravy on their mystery meat congeals.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2021
In “White Mountain,” the same admixture congeals into a dry, mineral hardness.
From New York Times ● Mar. 19, 2020
The blood congeals into a long, red terrycloth rectangle.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
The queso started fine but eventually congealed into something that approximated lukewarm paste.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
During a seven-nation polar exercise in Canada earlier this year to test equipment worth millions of dollars, the U.S. military’s all-terrain arctic vehicles broke down after 30 minutes because hydraulic fluids congealed in the cold.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 27, 2025
The mutant baby monster is the manifestation of that fear, in the same way Lilly’s visitation is the congealed manifestation of her torment.
From Salon ● Nov. 9, 2025
Other sounds, be it his wife popping chewing gum or a neighbour's dog barking, and some smells, such as congealed fat or grease, and sights such as fluorescent lights, have always made him very uncomfortable.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2024
Besides, I was out of practice in talking to him: his reserve was again frozen over, and my frankness was congealed beneath it.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
And multiple stacks of pizza boxes, their cooling, congealing slices triggering Logan into one of the mini-tirades his character is famous for.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2023
The Reyes memorial service, and the eulogists’ stories, crystallized a thought that had been congealing around the reporting: So much is unknown.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 9, 2022
Marine snow is anything but stable; as flakes free-fall into the abyss, they are constantly congealing and falling apart, rent by waves or predators.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2022
These are felicitously doled out, making the book voicey without congealing into shtick.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2020
Mine is empty, the purple remnants of huckleberry shake congealing on the silver spoon.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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