sublimate

American  

[suhb-luh-meyt, suhb-luh-mit, -meyt] / ˈsʌb ləˌmeɪt, ˈsʌb lə mɪt, -ˌmeɪt /

verb (used with object)

sublimated, sublimating

1. Psychology. 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.

2. Chemistry.

   1. to sublime (a solid substance); extract by this process.

   2. to refine or purify (a substance).

3. to make nobler or purer.

   To read about great men sublimates ambition.

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verb (used without object)

sublimated, sublimating

1. to become sublimated; undergo sublimation.

noun

1. Chemistry. the crystals, deposit, or material obtained when a substance is sublimated.

adjective

1. purified or exalted; sublimated.

sublimate British  

/ ˈsʌblɪˌmeɪt, ˈsʌbləməbəl /

verb

1. psychol to direct the energy of (a primitive impulse, esp a sexual one) into activities that are considered to be socially more acceptable

2. (tr) to make purer; refine

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noun

1. chem the material obtained when a substance is sublimed

adjective

1. exalted or purified

Other Word Forms

• desublimate verb (used with object)
• resublimate verb (used with object)
• sublimable adjective
• sublimableness noun
• sublimation noun
• supersublimated adjective
• unsublimated adjective

Etymology

Origin of sublimate

1425–75; late Middle English: exalted, sublimated < Latin sublīmātus (past participle of sublīmāre to elevate), equivalent to sublīm ( is ) sublime + -ātus -ate ¹

Example Sentences

But Davis’s character represents a truth women live with year-round, the need to fulfill multiple roles while sublimating a sleeping fury.

From Salon

But the sibling competition, however sublimated, was real.

From The Wall Street Journal

In earlier work, she showed that sublimating CO2 ice can trigger debris flows that cut deep channels along crater walls.

From Science Daily

She’ll sublimate her own romantic heartache in urban renewal and other good works.

From Los Angeles Times

"Because Martian air is so thin and the temperatures so cold, water-ice snow sublimates, or becomes a gas, before it even touches the ground. Dry-ice snow actually does reach the ground," NASA's website states.

From Salon

Related Words

• repress