macerate

[mas-uh-reyt]

verb (used with object), mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing.

to soften or separate into parts by steeping in a liquid.

to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.

to cause to grow thin.

verb (used without object), mac·er·at·ed, mac·er·at·ing.

to undergo maceration.

to become thin or emaciated; waste away.

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 for macerate

5. shrink, shrivel, fade, wither.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for macerated

permeate, soak, saturate, soften, mash, steep, ret, emaciate

Examples from the Web for macerated

Historical Examples of macerated

At any rate, they acted as balm upon his tongue and macerated lips.
The Web of the Golden Spider
Frederick Orin Bartlett
It had been cut up, macerated, perhaps chewed; perhaps it had been also soaked with water.
The Silent Bullet
Arthur B. Reeve
The material must be thoroughly freed from air, and macerated.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines
Andrew Ure
A portion of the flesh should be macerated in spirit as directed above.
An Elementary Text-book of the Microscope
John William Griffith
The bruised or sliced plant is boiled or macerated in water, and the filtered liquor precipitated and otherwise treated as before.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for macerated

macerate

verb

to soften or separate or be softened or separated as a result of soaking

to break up or cause to break up by soakingmacerated peaches

to become or cause to become thin

Derived Formsmacerater or macerator, nounmacerative, adjectivemaceration, noun

Word Origin for macerate

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 macerated

macerate

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.

macerated in Medicine

macerate

[măs′ə-rāt′]

v.

To make soft by soaking or steeping in a liquid.

To separate into constituents by soaking.

n.

A substance prepared or produced by macerating.