exfoliate

[ eks-foh-lee-eyt ]

/ ɛksˈfoʊ liˌeɪt /

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See synonyms for exfoliate on Thesaurus.com

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

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin exfoliātus, past participle of exfoliāre “to strip off leaves”; see origin at ex-¹, foliate

OTHER WORDS FROM exfoliate

ex·fo·li·a·tive

[eks-foh-lee-ey-tiv, -uh-tiv], /ɛksˈfoʊ liˌeɪ tɪv, -ə tɪv/, adjective

Words nearby exfoliate

exeunt omnes, ex facie, ex facto, exfiltrate, exfoliant, exfoliate, exfoliation, ex gratia, exhalant, exhalation, exhale

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

How to use exfoliate in a sentence

Because it’s easy to over-exfoliate at home, some dermatologists prefer in-office treatments, seeing the latter as a controlled burn compared with a wildfire.
Exfoliating isn’t necessary. But if you do it, follow the tips from these dermatologists.|Janna Mandell|April 12, 2021|Washington Post
While, again, exfoliating your body isn’t necessary, Hirsh said hands, feet and sometimes arms and legs can benefit from regular exfoliation.
Exfoliating isn’t necessary. But if you do it, follow the tips from these dermatologists.|Janna Mandell|April 12, 2021|Washington Post
“Our skin cells naturally exfoliate on their own,” said Chicago-based dermatologist Caroline Robinson.
Exfoliating isn’t necessary. But if you do it, follow the tips from these dermatologists.|Janna Mandell|April 12, 2021|Washington Post
When we exfoliate, we use hydroxy acids and enzymes to break the bonds that hold the cells together, which is what we don’t want.
Exfoliating isn’t necessary. But if you do it, follow the tips from these dermatologists.|Janna Mandell|April 12, 2021|Washington Post

There is no soil, but those towels are contaminated with dead skin cells that the towel has exfoliated.
Hints From Heloise: Reader isn’t in the tank for tankless water heater|Heloise Heloise|March 25, 2021|Washington Post
“I enjoy dating beardy blokes because you get to kiss and exfoliate at the same time,” she quips to The Daily Beast.
An Ode to Shaggy Men|Marisa Meltzer|October 23, 2009|DAILY BEAST
The loch having been drained away, we proceeded to exfoliate the crannog.
Trees. A Woodland Notebook|Herbert Maxwell
A 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, adjective

Word 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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

exfoliate

Origin of exfoliate

OTHER WORDS FROM exfoliate

Words nearby exfoliate

Words related to exfoliate

How to use exfoliate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for exfoliate

Derived forms of exfoliate

Word Origin for exfoliate