emulsify
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Usage
What does emulsify mean? To emulsify is to form an emulsion—a mixture of two liquids that don’t fully combine. An emulsion may look like a single liquid, but it’s made up of particles of one liquid distributed throughout another liquid. For example, if you emulsify oil and water, it forms an emulsion in which small droplets of oil are suspended in the water, but the two liquids aren’t fully blended together (as they would be if you stirred together water and vinegar, for example). In technical chemistry terms, an emulsion is a colloidal suspension in which the substances mixed together are both liquids. Both colloids and suspensions involve particles of one substance distributed in another without being dissolved. Emulsions are used in a variety of contexts, including pharmacology, cooking, and photography. In cooking, liquids or liquid-like ingredients are emulsified in order to make sauces with a smooth consistency. A common example of an emulsion is the kind of salad dressings called a vinaigrette, which is made by emulsifying oil and vinegar. Example: To emulsify oil and vinegar, you have to whisk very hard to separate the oil into tiny droplets, or else the two liquids will separate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
emulsibilitynoun
-
emulsifiabilitynoun
-
emulsificationnoun
-
emulsifiernoun
-
emulsibleadjective
-
emulsifiableadjective
-
unemulsifiedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
emulsifysimple
-
emulsifiessimple
-
have emulsifiedperfect
-
has emulsifiedperfect
-
am emulsifyingprogressive
-
are emulsifyingprogressive
-
is emulsifyingprogressive
-
have been emulsifyingperfect progressive
-
has been emulsifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
emulsifiedsimple
-
had emulsifiedperfect
-
was emulsifyingprogressive
-
were emulsifyingprogressive
-
had been emulsifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of emulsify
First recorded in 1855–60; from Latin ēmuls(us) ( see emulsion) + -ify
Explanation
When you emulsify something, you mix it so thoroughly that it becomes an emulsion, or a mixture of two liquids that can't be completely blended together. Home cooks emulsify any time they make a good oil-based salad dressing, thoroughly mixing the oil with the vinegar or other liquid ingredients. While the oil, because it's not soluble, can't be completely combined with the vinegar, you can emulsify the two so that the tiny drops of oil are dispersed across the volume of vinegar and the texture of the salad dressing is satisfying. Emulsify comes from the Latin word emulsus, or "milked out."
Vocabulary lists containing emulsify
Fast Food Nation
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!
Lupe Wong Won't Dance
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 therapy is a diglyceride formulation -- two omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, bound to a glyceride molecule -- which enhances their ability to emulsify into tiny, concentrated particles.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 2024
Mustard adds to a vinaigrette in two ways: It adds heat, flavor and dimension, and it helps emulsify or thicken the dressing.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
Butter can be tricky to smoothly emulsify into a sauce; it helps to start with cold butter and shake the skillet back and forth as it melts, rather than stir the butter into the sauce.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 26, 2023
“The Good John Proctor” shares DNA with Monahon’s other plays, which thoroughly emulsify history and fiction to give voice to previously marginal figures or to connect historical events to our moment.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
Weigh out peptone, 5 grammes, and emulsify with about 200 c.c. of the hot fish water; incorporate thoroughly with the remainder of the fish water in the flask.
From The Elements of Bacteriological Technique A Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by Eyre, J. W. H. (John William Henry)
This show's twist emulsifies the supernatural into the ludicrous.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2023
The mixture will split at first, but keep on whisking until it emulsifies.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2021
Did you know molasses emulsifies the olive oil and keeps the little fat molecules from stumbling into each other, thus allowing the oil and vinegar to mix?
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 6, 2020
If you liked that album, there’s no reason you wouldn’t like this one, which also emulsifies carols and Christmas standards to the consistency of a smoothie.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2016
It furthermore emulsifies the fat or divides it into extremely fine drops.
From Papers on Health by Kirk, Edward Bruce
The team says that result confirmed the hypothesis that VFD processing could be a "green" one-step technique for more stable, emulsified viscous liquids.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 2024
The brick-red butter sauce, emulsified with a splash of the pasta cooking water, coats spaghetti here, but you can use whatever noodles you like.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2023
It rolled along, accompanied by a team of three who would clean up potholes, spray on a layer of tacky emulsified asphalt, then fill the hole with the steaming asphalt heated to 280 degrees.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 21, 2022
It may just be emulsified oil, or perhaps that splash of milk has something to do with it.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2022
Mind is thus emulsified with body as a matter of cold literal fact.
From The Glands Regulating Personality by Berman, Louis, M.D.
“American cheese is made with sodium citrate, an emulsifying salt that keeps the cheese creamy and smooth when melted,” she said.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2025
That’s true if you’re emulsifying the sauce by using pasta water, tossing the pasta in the sauce and adding cheese and other fats to help it cling.
From Washington Post ● May 9, 2022
Improvisatory in feel but not in fact, Mr. Roberts’s choreography merges his own distinct rhythmic sensibility with the energy signature of each dancer, emulsifying contemporary physicality and period cool.
From New York Times ● Dec. 18, 2020
You can also apply an emulsifying ointment or olive or coconut oil – not inside – to act as a moisturiser.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 8, 2019
Almost all cleaning is simply a process of dissolving or emulsifying the dirt you want to get rid of, and washing it away with the liquid.
From Common Science by Ritchie, John W. (John Woodside)
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.
