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Synonyms

granulate

American  
[gran-yuh-leyt] / ˈgræn jəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

granulated, granulating
  1. to form into granules or grains.

  2. to raise in granules; make rough on the surface.


verb (used without object)

granulated, granulating
  1. to become granular or grainy.

  2. Pathology. to form granulation tissue.

granulate British  
/ ˈɡrænjʊˌleɪt /

verb

  1. (tr) to make into grains

  2. to make or become roughened in surface texture

  3. (intr) (of a wound, ulcer, etc) to form granulation tissue

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of granulate

First recorded in 1660–70; granule + -ate 1

Explanation

Granulate means to form or reduce into grains. You've probably seen the word on a box of granulated sugar and not thought twice about the fact that, besides its granular form, sugar exists as a liquid and also inside sugar cane. Sugar, of course, is not a grain. A grain is rice, wheat, quinoa, corn––seeds that form the basis of most people's diets. Sugar forms grains when it's refined, appearing in its crystallized form to have a grain-like, or granulated, appearance.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing granulate

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:

Meanwhile, Enviroo recently secured £58m to build a new recycling facility in the north-west of England, specialising in converting PET drink bottles into a recycled granulate that can be used in food packaging.

From BBC Oct. 23, 2025

And if honey does granulate it is still perfectly fine to eat.

From Salon Jun. 3, 2023

For well owners receiving Army assistance, the long-term plans for the taxpayer-financed cleanup range from installing granulate activated filtration systems to drilling deeper wells that could tap into PFAS-free water.

From Seattle Times Oct. 23, 2022

For the A3, 45 bottles are used, ground up to create a granulate that is turned into a polyester yarn, accounting for 89 percent of the seat material.

From New York Times Sep. 9, 2021

They would have to granulate the wood as she had done.

From How To Write Special Feature Articles A Handbook for Reporters, Correspondents and Free-Lance Writers Who Desire to Contribute to Popular Magazines and Magazine Sections of Newspapers by Willard Grosvenor Bleyer

The company, Irvine-based Ventura Foods, recalled 3,556 cases of the dressing that could be contaminated by “black plastic planting material” in the granulated onion used, according to an alert issued by the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times Dec. 19, 2025

"The pretence is that baled tyres are being sent to India and then shredded and granulated in a factory very similar to ours," explains Mr Mason.

From BBC Mar. 25, 2025

Surprisingly, sugar -- the white, granulated kind found in nearly every household -- served as an inexpensive, convenient source of carbon atoms.

From Science Daily May 2, 2024

Some brands rounded things out with sugar — granulated, brown, even hardwood-smoked — and many were very high in salt, with a few containing more than 20 percent of the recommended daily value of sodium.

From Salon Apr. 16, 2024

One oonful of this is more economical and far more sweetening than two of ordinary granulated Sugar.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

As soon as the sloughs separate and a granulating surface forms, the ordinary treatment for a healing sore is instituted.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson

Reverdin's method consists in planting out pieces of skin not bigger than a pin-head over a granulating surface.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Alexis Thomson

To bring the party to a happy end, we went to town on the Hungarian Liptauer, garnishing that fine, granulating buttery base after mixing it well with some cream cheese.

From The Complete Book of Cheese by Robert Carlton Brown

At the same time it must be remembered that the granulating process of repair is always more rapid upon the plantar cushion and fleshy sole than upon the bone, or upon tendinous or cartilaginous structures.

From Diseases of the Horse's Foot by Harry Caulton Reeks

The separate muscular layers were sharply defined in the lateral parts of the floor of the wound, and remained so for some time during the gradual contraction of the large granulating surface produced.

From Surgical Experiences in South Africa, 1899-1900 Being Mainly a Clinical Study of the Nature and Effects of Injuries Produced by Bullets of Small Calibre by George Henry Makins

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