liquefy
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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liquefies,
present (3rd person singular)
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liquefied,
past participle, past
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liquefying
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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liquefactionnoun
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liquefiernoun
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reliquefyverb
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liquefactiveadjective
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liquefiableadjective
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nonliquefiableadjective
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nonliquefyingadjective
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unliquefiableadjective
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unliquefiedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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liquefysimple
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liquefiessimple
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have liquefiedperfect
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has liquefiedperfect
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am liquefyingprogressive
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are liquefyingprogressive
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is liquefyingprogressive
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have been liquefyingperfect progressive
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has been liquefyingperfect progressive
Past
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liquefiedsimple
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had liquefiedperfect
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was liquefyingprogressive
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were liquefyingprogressive
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had been liquefyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of liquefy
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English lyquefyen, from Old French liquefier, translation of Latin liquefacere “to melt” ( see liquefacient); see -fy
Explanation
When you turn a solid into a liquid, like when you set an ice cube in the sunshine and watch it melt into a puddle of water, you liquefy it. You can liquefy a solid by heating it until it melts, and you can also say the substance itself liquefies. A jar of coconut oil that's hard and solid in the refrigerator will liquefy if you leave it on the counter on a warm summer day. The Latin root of liquefy is liquefacere, "make liquid," from liquere, "be fluid," and facere, "to make."
Vocabulary lists containing liquefy
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
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The Hot Zone
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"Modern Automotive Technology," Vocabulary from Section 12
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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:
TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil's projects require onshore facilities to liquefy the gas so it can be transported by sea.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
Egypt has facilities to liquefy natural gas that allow the energy source to be shipped abroad.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
Foundries, which liquefy and cast metals, can release hexavalent chromium during melting, welding and grinding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
But the company uses the heat generated by the electricity itself, rather than acid, to liquefy the ore.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 30, 2024
In this way, collagen in the body turns to mush, and the underlayers of the skin die and liquefy.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
Who’s washing it, chopping it, remembering it exists in the crisper drawer before it liquefies?
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
The building’s walls and ceilings are constructed with a vegetable-based material that liquefies on hot afternoons to absorb heat and then solidifies at night.
From Washington Times ● Jan. 29, 2023
As the gas liquefies, it shrinks, and becomes six hundred times smaller, making it much easier to transport.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2022
An automatic agitator then liquefies the bugs, producing a foamy gray ink with floating legs.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 17, 2017
C., gives off alcohol, and leaves a solid residue, which liquefies at 275 deg.
From The Galaxy, Volume 23, No. 2, February, 1877 by Various
RWE said it will instead invest $900 million to acquire an indirect 16% stake in a liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana and $300 million to support the development of natural gas turbines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
While the effects from the war mostly benefited ExxonMobil, damage to key liquefied natural gas assets in Qatar dented output.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
It became a leading producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas, thanks to international partnerships and investments that had been brokered.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
Three ships had been struck within hours of each other, including a liquefied natural gas tanker, they told the president.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Gregor looked away when the spider started sucking out the bug’s liquefied insides.
From "Gregor the Overlander" by Suzanne Collins
As a former undertaker, Morton-Hayward knew the brain is perhaps the softest of the body’s soft tissues: It tends to decay quickly after death, liquefying and leaving only the skull behind.
From Science Magazine ● Mar. 19, 2024
People had been liquefying excess Gruyére in a bath of oxidized wine and mopping it up with day-old bread in the Alps for centuries, but the practice had never jumped the pond.
From Salon ● Feb. 19, 2023
Theoretically, transporting gas by pipelines would be easier than liquefying natural gas for export before converting it back into gas at its destination.
From New York Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
Constructed in 1951 and 1968, respectively, the lower and upper dams are crumbling, and the soil underneath is at risk of liquefying.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2019
“Maybe we can save some of it,” he says as he finally grasps the Comet can and pulls it out of the water upside down, dumping even more liquefying powder into the tub.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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.
