levigate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to rub, grind, or reduce to a fine powder, as in a mortar, with or without the addition of a liquid.
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Chemistry. to make a homogeneous mixture of, as gels.
adjective
verb
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(tr) to grind into a fine powder or a smooth paste
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to form or cause to form a homogeneous mixture, as in the production of gels
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(tr) to suspend (fine particles) by grinding in a liquid, esp as a method of separating fine from coarse particles
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of levigate
1605–15; < Latin lēvigātus, past participle of lēvigāre to smooth, pulverize, equivalent to lēv ( is ) smooth + -igāre v. suffix see fumigate, -ate 1
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:
Mark first the rationale of the thing: Hear logic rivel and levigate the deed.
From The Book of Humorous Verse by Wells, Carolyn
It is when combined with levigated talc to form the paint of the toilette that the red becomes most serviceable.
From Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists by Salter, Thomas
Particles of stone worn or triturated in the gizzards of worms—Swallowed stones serve as mill-stones— The levigated state of the castings—Fragments of brick in the castings over ancient buildings well rounded.
From The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms, with observations on their habits by Darwin, Charles
Moreover much of the finest levigated earth is washed completely away from the castings.
From The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms, with observations on their habits by Darwin, Charles
Had this been the case, the artist need not have looked farther for the furnishing of his palette than to a supply of well-burnt and levigated enamel pigments.
From Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists by Salter, Thomas
But whereas the Nile-peoples pounded the stone in mortars and washed the dust on sloping boards, here the matrix must be laboriously levigated.
From To The Gold Coast for Gold, Vol. II A Personal Narrative by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
This process consists in finely pulverizing the soil or rock, and levigating it in vessels of water.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 4 "Cincinnatus" to "Cleruchy" by Various
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.
