desiccate

[des-i-keyt]

verb (used with object)

desiccated, desiccating 

1. to dry thoroughly; dry up.

2. to preserve (food) by removing moisture; dehydrate.

verb (used without object)

desiccated, desiccating 

1. to become thoroughly dried or dried up.

desiccate

/ ˈdɛsɪˌkeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to remove most of the water from (a substance or material); dehydrate

2. (tr) to preserve (food) by removing moisture; dry

3. (intr) to become dried up

desiccate

1. To remove the moisture from something or dry it thoroughly.

2. ◆ A desiccator is a container that removes moisture from the air within it.

3. ◆ A desiccator contains a desiccant, a substance that traps or absorbs water molecules. Some desiccants include silica gel (silicon dioxide), calcium sulfate (dehydrated gypsum), calcium oxide (calcined lime), synthetic molecular sieves (porous crystalline aluminosilicates), and dried clay.

Other Word Forms

• desiccation noun
• desiccative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of desiccate¹

1565–75; < Latin dēsiccātus dried up, past participle of dēsiccāre, equivalent to dē- de- + siccāre, derivative of siccus dry; -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of desiccate¹

C16: from Latin dēsiccāre to dry up, from _de- + siccāre to dry, from siccus dry

Example Sentences

A moral universe without purgatory would be a thin, desiccated place: metaphysical reality flattened to nothing more than God and the individual soul that must, down the wearisome road, face some grim and final judgment.

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He was “working with the new FDA,” he said in a LinkedIn post in November, to remove from the market desiccated thyroid extracts, a product critical to another company led by Tang, American Laboratories Holdings.

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Today, tribal members say L.A.’s extensive use of water has transformed the landscape, desiccating many springs and meadows, killing native grasses and altering the ecosystem.

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His latest book’s rather desiccated title led me to believe it would mount some dry defense of religion in general.

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Oregon’s Lake Abert has repeatedly dried up, and biologists have found that when it’s desiccated, more phalaropes fly farther south to Mono Lake.

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