liquefy

American  

[lik-wuh-fahy] / ˈlɪk wəˌfaɪ /

verb (used with or without object)

• liquefies,
  present (3rd person singular)
• liquefied,
  past participle,  past
• liquefying
  present participle

1. to make or become liquid.

   Synonyms:

   condense, thaw, dissolve, fuse, melt

   Antonyms:

   evaporate, solidify

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liquefy British  

/ ˈlɪkwɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (esp of a gas) to become or cause to become liquid

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• liquefaction
  noun
• liquefier
  noun
• reliquefy
  verb
• liquefactive
  adjective
• liquefiable
  adjective
• nonliquefiable
  adjective
• nonliquefying
  adjective
• unliquefiable
  adjective
• unliquefied
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• liquefying
  present
• liquefied
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• liquefy
  simple
• liquefies
  simple
• have liquefied
  perfect
• has liquefied
  perfect
• am liquefying
  progressive
• are liquefying
  progressive
• is liquefying
  progressive
• have been liquefying
  perfect progressive
• has been liquefying
  perfect progressive

Past

• liquefied
  simple
• had liquefied
  perfect
• was liquefying
  progressive
• were liquefying
  progressive
• had been liquefying
  perfect progressive

Future

• will liquefy
  simple
• will have liquefied
  perfect
• will be liquefying
  progressive
• will have been liquefying
  perfect progressive

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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

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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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

liquefy liquefies liquefied liquefying

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

The company has also invested billions of dollars in projects to liquefy and ship natural gas on the Gulf Coast and in Qatar.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026

But the company uses the heat generated by the electricity itself, rather than acid, to liquefy the ore.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 30, 2024

“It allows you to completely throw yourself into things that you believe in and liquefy your anxiety,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2023

Lourdes felt the clot dislodge and liquefy beneath her breasts, float through her belly, and slide down her thighs.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

Cooling natural gas until it liquefies is energy intensive.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

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

The same furnace that hardens clay liquefies gold; and in the strong manifestations of divine power Pharoah found his punishment, but David his pardon.—Colton.

From Pearls of Thought by Maturin Murray Ballou

Before the war, the strait—a critical artery for global energy markets—used to carry around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Similarly, while exports of liquefied natural gas from the Middle East fell by 47%, global shipments declined by just 1% as Malaysia, Norway, Angola and others increased output.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

Some 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas used to pass through the strait before the war and its closure has caused wild fluctuations of prices.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

The analyst expects the South Korean state utility operator’s profit to decline sharply in 2H, with higher crude oil and liquefied natural gas prices weighing on its bottom line.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

She saw rotten pockets where all the cells had popped and died, forming a liquefied spot that was packed with wall-to-wall bricks.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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

And how did they convey the sandworm rushing through the sand, liquefying every particle in its path?

From New York Times ● Mar. 16, 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

The total weight came to around fifty pounds of Biohazard Level 4 liquefying primate.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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