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

British Dictionary definitions for macerator

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 macerator

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.

macerator 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.