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macerate

[mas-uh-reyt]
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verb (used with object), mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing.
  1. to soften or separate into parts by steeping in a liquid.
  2. to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.
  3. to cause to grow thin.
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verb (used without object), mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing.
  1. to undergo maceration.
  2. to become thin or emaciated; waste away.
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Origin of macerate

1540–50; < Latin mācerātus (past participle of mācerāre to make soft, weaken, steep); see -ate1
Related formsmac·er·at·er, mac·er·a·tor, nounmac·er·a·tive, adjectiveun·mac·er·at·ed, adjective

Synonyms

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5. shrink, shrivel, fade, wither.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

permeatesoaksaturatesoftenmashsteepretemaciate

Examples from the Web for macerate

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for macerate

macerate

verb
  1. to soften or separate or be softened or separated as a result of soaking
  2. to break up or cause to break up by soakingmacerated peaches
  3. to become or cause to become thin
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Derived Formsmacerater or macerator, nounmacerative, adjectivemaceration, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin mācerāre to soften
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

Word Origin and History for macerate

v.

late 15c., a back-formation from maceration or else from Latin maceratus, past participle of macerare "soften, make soft, soak, steep," related to maceria "garden wall," originally "of kneaded clay," from PIE *mak-ero-, suffixed form of root *mag- "to knead" (cf. Greek magis "kneaded mass, cake," mageus "one who kneads, baker;" Old Church Slavonic mazo "to anoint, smear;" Breton meza "to knead;" Middle Irish maistir "to churn"), also "to fashion, fit" (cf. make (v.)). Related: Macerated; macerating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
macerate in Medicine

macerate

(măs′ə-rāt′)
v.
  1. To make soft by soaking or steeping in a liquid.
  2. To separate into constituents by soaking.
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n.
  1. A substance prepared or produced by macerating.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.