granulate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
-
to become granular or grainy.
-
Pathology. to form granulation tissue.
verb
-
(tr) to make into grains
-
to make or become roughened in surface texture
-
(intr) (of a wound, ulcer, etc) to form granulation tissue
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of granulate
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.
Vocabulary lists containing granulate
Vocab Video Contest (2016) - List 3
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
How to Find What You're Not Looking For
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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
The great question was would the syrup granulate; and hundreds gathered to watch the experiment.
From Historic Papers on the Causes of the Civil War by Potts, Eugenia Dunlap
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
Most bakers reach for powdered sugar, but I’ll admit: I like the slight texture of granulated sugar.
From Salon ● Apr. 12, 2025
Rock hard, they are granulated then infused with a secret marinade of ingredients from the list above, before being roasted to create new flavours, aromas and compounds.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2024
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
Vials are filled with ash from the Mount St. Helen’s eruption, and they look like granulated potions, dark glittering magic.
From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day
Even the fluid from a blister, in virtue of the isolated cells of the rete Malpighii which it contains, is capable of starting epithelial growth on a granulating surface.
From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis
The granulating surface left on the separation of the slough tends to heal comparatively rapidly.
From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis
The age of the patient; the sharp limitation; the well-defined, indurated film of infiltration; the peculiar, red, raw, granulating appearance; and, later, the retraction of the nipple; and, finally, the involvement of the deeper parts.
From Essentials of Diseases of the Skin Including the Syphilodermata Arranged in the Form of Questions and Answers Prepared Especially for Students of Medicine by Stelwagon, Henry Weightman
It is difficult, if not impossible, to so conduct them as to avoid opening up afresh recent granulating wounds.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
The Bureau having adopted a new system of granulating Navy powder, the different classes will in future be known and designated as Rifle, Cannon, and Musket.
From Ordnance Instructions for the United States Navy. 1866. Fourth edition. by United States. Navy Dept. Bureau of Ordnance
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.
