desalination
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Explanation
When salt and other minerals are removed from soil or water, it's called desalination. Desalination can make sea water safe to drink. The term desalination adds the prefix de-, "undo," to salination, "adding salt." The salty heart of the word is saline, "containing or made of salt." The complex process of water desalination involves using electricity or extreme heat, and it's very expensive. Still, many people around the world depend on desalination of ocean water for drinking and watering crops.
Vocabulary lists containing desalination
Chemistry - High School
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Chemistry - Middle School
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Marine Biology - Middle School
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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.
Following protests in August and September, authorities told the firms opening data centres in Batam that they must build their own desalination plants instead of relying on reservoirs for freshwater.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
They have targeted civilian infrastructure, including water desalination plants and energy installations, along with bases hosting American troops.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
He specifically instructed NOAA, which is under his purview, to take offshore oil production, pipeline maintenance, spaceport infrastructure, desalination projects and undersea cables into consideration, citing national priorities and economic interests.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
For example, the importance of energy transition has increased since the start of the Ukraine war, while recurrent European droughts are driving companies to “invest very heavily” in water resources and desalination plants.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
So rather than continuing west to the desalination center at the beach, she decides to crank her wheel right and follow the truck.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
