desalinate

American  

[dee-sal-uh-neyt] / diˈsæl əˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

desalinated, desalinating

1. desalt.

---

desalinate British  

/ diːˈsælɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. Also: desalt.  (tr) to remove the salt from (esp from sea water)

---

Other Word Forms

• desalination
  noun
• desalinator
  noun

Etymology

Origin of desalinate

First recorded in 1945–50; de- + saline + -ate ¹

Explanation

To desalinate something is to remove all the salt from it. It's possible to desalinate ocean water in order to make it drinkable. Scientists have figured out how to desalinate seawater, making it much more useful to humans. Once you strip away the salt and other minerals that make it undrinkable, the water can be used for both drinking and irrigating crops, which can save the lives of people experiencing droughts. It's also sometimes necessary to desalinate soil so that plants can grow in it. Desalinate comes from de-, "undo," and saline, "made of salt."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

desalinate desalinated desalinating

"The big challenge is that you need a lot of energy to desalinate water and increase water production using zero liquid discharge," Dunn said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024

India is among many countries that have built huge plants to desalinate sea water.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2023

There are currently two techniques used to desalinate seawater - thermal and membrane.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2023

A few entrepreneurs are selling water that they desalinate using small reverse osmosis systems in their homes, but that ends up dumping salty slime into nearby ponds.

From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2023

Arizona officials have been looking into a possible deal with Mexico to desalinate seawater at the Sea of Cortez and exchange that water for some of Mexico’s Colorado River water.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2022

In a salt water electrolyzer, the new steel delivered performance comparable to titanium structural components currently used to produce hydrogen from desalinated seawater or acidic solutions.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

The country currently produces a little more than 657,000 cubic metres per day of desalinated water thanks to 341 plants.

From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026

Arizona and Nevada are pursuing a deal with the San Diego County Water Authority to access desalinated ocean water.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026

Ras Laffan also houses gas-to-liquids facilities — these convert natural gas into liquid petroleum products — along with a refinery and water and power plants that produce desalinated water and generate electricity.

From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026

The algae naturally and continuously desalinated sea water, which was why its core was salty while its outer surface was wet with fresh water: it was oozing the fresh water out.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

We need an economical method of desalinating ocean water and transporting it over long distances to arid regions of the planet such as North Africa, the Middle East, Central Australia and the Western U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

"The ship can produce fresh water by desalinating seawater, but that becomes difficult if we are not sailing," he says.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026

They say it’s not really desalinating seawater in the traditional sense, but rather harvesting fresh water from devices that function like wells in the ocean.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025

Now, faced with declining water levels, Iran has turned to new technical solutions, like transferring water from one area to another and desalinating seawater, an energy-intensive and polluting practice.

From New York Times ● Jun. 21, 2023

San Diego and El Paso, Tex., are already desalinating brackish groundwater.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 17, 2023