sublimate
verb (used with object)
to divert the energy of (a sexual or other biological impulse) from its immediate goal to one of a more acceptable social, moral, or aesthetic nature or use.
sublimated
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past participleof sublimate.past participle
A verb form used in perfect and passive verb constructions and that can also function as a modifier.
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past tense formof sublimate.past tense
Used to describe completed actions or previous habitual actions.
sublimateverb (used with object)to divert the energy of (a sexual or other biological impulse) from its immediate goal to one of a more acceptable social, moral, or aesthetic nature or use.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The ecstasies of attraction are sublimated into their long conversations about Boethius and Hildegard von Bingen, or about the suddenly debatable issues of contraception and clerical celibacy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
The 12-foot-long cabinetlike work is the latest in the series that Peters calls “impossible monuments”: installations made out of disparate, significant materials that explore overlooked or sublimated matters of import.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
Materials are sublimated in a vacuum under heat supply, i.e. they are converted from a solid to a gaseous state and condense on the substrate surface.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2024
Ellis-Taylor’s face becomes an epic poem of expertly sublimated frustration and ire.
From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2024
This woman who was so down to earth and practical in all other aspects of life sublimated her childhood passion and lived it tragically.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
