desalinate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of desalinate
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."
Vocabulary lists containing desalinate
List 14
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Selection Vocabulary 1, Unit 6
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
"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
California also hosts about 20 brackish water plants which can desalinate slightly salty water from rivers, aqueducts and other sources.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2022
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
The Persian Gulf is now home to the largest concentration of desalination capacity on earth, producing roughly 40% of the world’s desalinated water.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 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 key strategy in overcoming it is to build in some diversification of supply — to groundwater, desalinated water and reused wastewater — in addition to reducing demand.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2025
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
Some water-stressed regions, including some entire countries, are already desalinating seawater.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 17, 2023
The seven-member panel analyzed proposals that would involve desalinating seawater in Mexico, at the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez, and sending it north across the border.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2022
They used baby wipes to clean and occasionally had a bucket bath using special soap and seawater put through their desalinating machine.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2022
It operates in some respects like an aircraft carrier at sea, even desalinating its own water with fuel brought in by tanker.
From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2019
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
