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View synonyms for percolate

percolate

[ verb pur-kuh-leyt; noun pur-kuh-lit, -leyt ]

verb (used with object)

, per·co·lat·ed, per·co·lat·ing.
  1. to cause (a liquid) to pass through a porous body; filter.
  2. (of a liquid) to filter through; permeate.
  3. to brew (coffee) in a percolator.


verb (used without object)

, per·co·lat·ed, per·co·lat·ing.
  1. to pass through a porous substance; filter; ooze; seep; trickle.
  2. to become percolated:

    The coffee is starting to percolate.

  3. to become active, lively, or spirited.
  4. to show activity, movement, or life; grow or spread gradually; germinate:

    Interest in the idea has begun to percolate.

noun

  1. a percolated liquid.

percolate

/ ˈpɜːkələbəl /

verb

  1. to cause (a liquid) to pass through a fine mesh, porous substance, etc, or (of a liquid) to pass through a fine mesh, porous substance, etc; trickle

    rain percolated through the roof

  2. to permeate; penetrate gradually

    water percolated the road

  3. informal.
    intr to become active or lively

    she percolated with happiness

  4. to make (coffee) or (of coffee) to be made in a percolator
“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


noun

  1. a product of percolation
“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
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Pronunciation Note

The pronunciation of percolate as [pur, -ky, uh, -leyt], with an intrusive y -glide, results from analogy with words like circulate and matriculate, where the unstressed vowel following the k -sound is symbolized by a u spelling, making the y -glide mandatory. In similar words where [k] is followed by some other vowel, the [y] represents a hypercorrection. The pronunciation of escalate as [es, -ky, uh, -leyt] is another such example. See coupon, new.
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Derived Forms

  • ˈpercolative, adjective
  • ˌpercoˈlation, noun
  • percolable, adjective
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Other Words From

  • perco·la·ble adjective
  • perco·lative adjective
  • un·perco·lated adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of percolate1

1620–30; < Latin percōlātus, past participle of percōlāre to filter. See per-, colander, -ate 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of percolate1

C17: from Latin percolāre, from per + cōlāre to strain, from cōlum a strainer; see colander
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Example Sentences

Russian militants continue to percolate through the Ukrainian border, hoping their Kremlin-stoked fantasies will come true.

And this effect would probably percolate up the food chain somewhat.

Novel gun control ideas continue to percolate through the commentariat.

I realize now that I was naive to think any of that would percolate through.

In the U.S., it took more than a decade for the lessons to percolate from the teach-ins to the startups.

With pulp treated in steeping tanks, fresh water is allowed to percolate or drain slowly through the mass.

No water can percolate athwart it, and consequently where it is, there the superincumbent soil is resolved into a quagmire.

The Gulf had risen close enough to their little well to percolate through the sand into it and render it as salt as itself.

Concentrate the weak percolate to a soft extract and dissolve in the reserved portion.

Through pressure of instincts from past lives, strengths or weaknesses percolate gradually into human consciousness.

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percoidpercolation