enucleate

[ verb ih-noo-klee-eyt, ih-nyoo-; adjective ih-noo-klee-it, -eyt, ih-nyoo- ]

See synonyms for: enucleate enucleation on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),e·nu·cle·at·ed, e·nu·cle·at·ing.

Biology. to deprive of the nucleus.
to remove (a kernel, tumor, eyeball, etc.) from its enveloping cover.

Archaic. to bring out; disclose; explain.

adjective

having no nucleus.

Origin of enucleate

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin ēnucleātus (past participle of ēnucleāre “to remove the pit from (fruit)”), equivalent to ē- e-¹ + nucle(us) nucleus + -ātus -ate¹

Other words from enucleate

e·nu·cle·a·tion [ih-noo-klee-ey-shuhn, -nyoo-] /ɪˌnu kliˈeɪ ʃən, -ˌnyu-/ noun

Words Nearby enucleate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use enucleate in a sentence

I suspect that this error must at first have arisen from some confusion between to eliminate and to enucleate.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive | John Stuart Mill
Under these circumstances it is better to leave it alone, or, if it be causing signs of irritation, to enucleate the eye.
A System of Operative Surgery, Volume IV (of 4) | Various
It requireth much discernment and much time to enucleate and bring into light their abstruse wisdom and gravely featured virtues.
Citation and Examination of William Shakspeare | Walter Savage Landor
In the present imperfect state of knowledge it may be impossible to enucleate miracle, however defined, of all mystery.
Miracles and Supernatural Religion | James Morris Whiton
Associated words: enucleate, enucleation, exacinate, exacination.
Putnam's Word Book | Louis A. Flemming

British Dictionary definitions for enucleate

enucleate

verb(ɪˈnjuːklɪˌeɪt) (tr)

biology to remove the nucleus from (a cell)
surgery to remove (a tumour or other structure) from its capsule without rupturing it

archaic to explain or disclose

adjective(ɪˈnjuːklɪɪt, -ˌeɪt)

(of cells) deprived of their nuclei

Origin of enucleate

C16: from Latin ēnūcleāre to remove the kernel, from nūcleus kernel

Derived forms of enucleate

enucleation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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