exfoliate
[ eks-foh-lee-eyt ]
/ ɛksˈfoʊ liˌeɪt /
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verb (used with object), ex·fo·li·at·ed, ex·fo·li·at·ing.
to throw off in scales, splinters, etc.
to remove the surface of (a bone, the skin, etc.) in scales or laminae.
verb (used without object), ex·fo·li·at·ed, ex·fo·li·at·ing.
to throw off scales or flakes; peel off in thin fragments: The bark of some trees exfoliates.
Geology.
- to split or swell into a scaly aggregate, as certain minerals when heated.
- to separate into rudely concentric layers or sheets, as certain rocks during weathering.
Medicine/Medical. to separate and come off in scales, as scaling skin or any structure separating in flakes.
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Origin of exfoliate
OTHER WORDS FROM exfoliate
ex·fo·li·a·tive [eks-foh-lee-ey-tiv, -uh-tiv], /ɛksˈfoʊ liˌeɪ tɪv, -ə tɪv/, adjectiveWords nearby exfoliate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for exfoliate
For one thing, Directa Plus’s method of producing graphene is based on physics rather than chemistry—instead of using chemicals to grow the substance on metal, it uses extreme heat and pressure to exfoliate graphene from graphite particles.
Graphene gets real: Meet the entrepreneurs bringing the wonder substance to market|David Meyer|December 13, 2020|Fortune“I enjoy dating beardy blokes because you get to kiss and exfoliate at the same time,” she quips to The Daily Beast.
The loch having been drained away, we proceeded to exfoliate the crannog.
Trees. A Woodland Notebook|Herbert MaxwellA layer of the exposed surface of bone will probably exfoliate, and the wound granulate and become closed without further trouble.
A Treatise on Gunshot Wounds|Thomas Longmore
British Dictionary definitions for exfoliate
exfoliate
/ (ɛksˈfəʊlɪˌeɪt) /
verb
(tr) to wash (a part of the body) with a granular cosmetic preparation in order to remove dead cells from the skin's surface
(of bark, skin, etc) to peel off in (layers, flakes, or scales)
(intr) (of rocks or minerals) to shed the thin outermost layer because of weathering or heating
(of some minerals, esp mica) to split or cause to split into thin flakesa factory to exfoliate vermiculite
Derived forms of exfoliate
exfoliation, nounexfoliative, adjectiveWord Origin for exfoliate
C17: from Late Latin exfoliāre to strip off leaves, from Latin folium leaf
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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