dematerialize

especially British, de·ma·te·ri·al·ise

[dee-muh-teer-ee-uh-lahyz]

verb (used with or without object)

dematerialized, dematerializing 

1. to deprive of or lose material character.

dematerialize

/ ˌdiːməˈtɪərɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to cease to have material existence, as in science fiction or spiritualism

2. to disappear without trace; vanish

Other Word Forms

• dematerialization noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of dematerialize¹

First recorded in 1880–85; de- + materialize

Example Sentences

The lively canvas, hardly an illustration of an event, employs light-reflective silver and golden-brown metallic paints applied in vast fields of paisley-like commas that dematerialize into a spatially ambiguous surface shimmer.

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There is no insistence in Tanowitz’s work; its beauties flower and dematerialize before your eyes.

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In fact, the waterfront dining room and the meticulously prepared tasting menu have already dematerialized.

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Other pop scenes seemed to dematerialize in its wake.

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Jules confesses — to making the recording and to stealing the silky gown Cynthia wears to do “La Wally” — and both times her umbrage dematerializes.

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Related Words

• abandon 
• depart 
• die 
• die out 
• dissipate 
• dissolve 
• escape 
• evaporate 
• expire 
• fade 
• flee 
• fly 
• go 
• leave 
• melt 
• perish 
• recede 
• retire 
• retreat 
• sink