exfoliate
Americanverb (used with object)
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exfoliates,
present (3rd person singular)
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exfoliated,
past participle, past
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exfoliating
present participle
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to throw off in scales, splinters, etc.
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to remove the surface of (a bone, the skin, etc.) in scales or laminae.
verb (used without object)
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exfoliates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
exfoliated,
past participle, past
-
exfoliating
present participle
-
to throw off scales or flakes; peel off in thin fragments.
The bark of some trees exfoliates.
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Geology.
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to split or swell into a scaly aggregate, as certain minerals when heated.
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to separate into rudely concentric layers or sheets, as certain rocks during weathering.
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Medicine/Medical. to separate and come off in scales, as scaling skin or any structure separating in flakes.
verb
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(tr) to wash (a part of the body) with a granular cosmetic preparation in order to remove dead cells from the skin's surface
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(of bark, skin, etc) to peel off in (layers, flakes, or scales)
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(intr) (of rocks or minerals) to shed the thin outermost layer because of weathering or heating
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(of some minerals, esp mica) to split or cause to split into thin flakes
a factory to exfoliate vermiculite
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
exfoliatesimple
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exfoliatessimple
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have exfoliatedperfect
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has exfoliatedperfect
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am exfoliatingprogressive
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are exfoliatingprogressive
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is exfoliatingprogressive
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have been exfoliatingperfect progressive
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has been exfoliatingperfect progressive
Past
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exfoliatedsimple
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had exfoliatedperfect
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was exfoliatingprogressive
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were exfoliatingprogressive
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had been exfoliatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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
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:
Treatments will clean, exfoliate and moisturize the scalp, and they will include a gentle head massage.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026
These are like facial masks for your feet, and many make lofty promises to remove calluses, exfoliate your skin and make your feet feel smoother and softer.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2022
The set includes the local company’s Brighten Gemstone Mask, with pineapple enzymes that exfoliate and brighten, and Orchid Facial Oil, with jasmine oil and orchid extract for hydration and glow.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 31, 2020
Wait three minutes — take the time to shave, exfoliate, sing, whatever floats your boat — and then rinse it out and voila!
From Slate ● Feb. 11, 2019
Here are pieces of rails along which the wheels of locomotives have slidden; the granules have yielded and become plates; they exfoliate or come off in leaves.
From The Glaciers of the Alps Being a narrative of excursions and ascents, etc. by John Tyndall
Writer-director Sofia Coppola exfoliates the lust for celebrity lifestyles that often powers theft, even at its most haphazard and uncoordinated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2024
The spa’s most popular body treatment is the Honey Glow Body Wrap, which exfoliates your entire body in a warm wrap of honey.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2021
She demonstrates how to apply a cleanser to the nubs and how to move the buzzing device around your face as it exfoliates and removes dirt.
From Slate ● Apr. 25, 2019
The pumpkin enzyme in this treatment exfoliates, while alpha hydroxy acid peels, and aluminum oxide polishes, tackling a dull complexion.
From Forbes ● Oct. 28, 2014
Laumonite When strongly heated, exfoliates and curls up.
After addressing structural problems such as loss of adhesion and exfoliated paint, the restorers then used reversible techniques -- including watercolour paint -- to "stitch" everything back together, she said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
For 45 minutes, a “Q-facial” machine sprayed, vacuumed, exfoliated and hydrated my face, delivering ultrasonic waves at two different depths.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 14, 2025
Such exfoliated samples can be quite clean and free from impurities that would otherwise interfere with graphene's desirable properties.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2024
Once my feet were soaked and clipped, she exfoliated the tops of my feet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
“Yeah. I have five humongous bug bites on my legs and arms, my butt crack has been thoroughly exfoliated with sand, I’m hungry, exhausted, and I haven’t seen a ship anywhere.”
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
They swirled hand-muddled blueberries and raw honey into organic, sugar-free yogurt for his facial; they stirred exfoliating Japanese volcanic sand into mineral-rich Korean mud for his hydrating mask.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025
When the trees shed their puzzle-piece bark, it’s like they’re exfoliating: They deposit pollutants into the soil, preventing them from entering local waterways or our lungs, while jettisoning damaged bark.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2024
The researchers fabricated two samples of the hybrid graphene structure by first exfoliating graphene layers from a block of graphite, then using optical tools to identify five-layered flakes in the steplike configuration.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 21, 2024
It comes after the British Association for Dermatologists warned potentially harmful active ingredients found in some of these products made for adults, such as exfoliating acids, can provoke allergies or eczema in younger skin.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2024
Ifemelu had finished and Aunty Uju was coating an exfoliating mask on her face when The General called to say he could no longer come.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
