etiolate
[ ee-tee-uh-leyt ]
verb (used with object),e·ti·o·lat·ed, e·ti·o·lat·ing.
to cause (a plant) to whiten or grow pale by excluding light: to etiolate celery.
to cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor.
verb (used without object),e·ti·o·lat·ed, e·ti·o·lat·ing.
(of plants) to whiten or grow pale through lack of light.
Origin of etiolate
1Other words from etiolate
- e·ti·o·la·tion, noun
Words Nearby etiolate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use etiolate in a sentence
I can not believe that, to produce one roseate complexion, she must etiolate a thousand.
The Book of Khalid | Ameen Rihani
British Dictionary definitions for etiolate
etiolate
/ (ˈiːtɪəʊˌleɪt) /
verb
botany to whiten (a green plant) through lack of sunlight
to become or cause to become pale and weak, as from malnutrition
Origin of etiolate
1C18: from French étioler to make pale, probably from Old French estuble straw, from Latin stipula
Derived forms of etiolate
- etiolation, 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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