vermiculate
Americanverb (used with object)
adjective
-
worm-eaten, or appearing as if worm-eaten.
-
sinuous; tortuous; intricate.
vermiculate thought processes.
verb
adjective
-
vermicular; sinuous
-
worm-eaten or appearing as if worm-eaten
-
(of thoughts, etc) insinuating; subtly tortuous
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of vermiculate
First recorded in 1595–1605, vermiculate is from the Latin word vermiculātus (past participle of vermiculārī to be worm-eaten). See vermicule, -ate 1
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.
See Examples For:
He regarded the thing as vermiculate, and ready to corrupt the obedience.
From The Elect Lady by George MacDonald
And to leave her would be to quarrel, and start a thousand vermiculate questions, as Lord Bacon calls them, for which life is too serious in my eyes.
From Robert Falconer by George MacDonald
My life seemed only a vermiculate one, a crawling about of half-thoughts-half-feelings through the corpse of a decaying existence.
From Wilfrid Cumbermede by George MacDonald
Remarks.—Specimens from the southern edge of the Edwards Plateau and the eastern edge of the Stockton Plateau have larger flecks on the back that tend to form a vermiculate pattern like that of S. guttilatus.
From A Taxonomic Revision of the Leptodactylid Frog Genus Syrrhophus Cope by John D. Lynch
With its feudal class system intact - if moth-eaten and vermiculated - British society exhibits small but crucial differences in its satiric temperament.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2015
He took the scientists to the kitchen and there in the cooking pot were the telltale head and feet of Scotopelia bouvieri, the little-known vermiculated fishing owl.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 27, 2013
This noble structure is of brick, with vermiculated stone-work at the angles and on the casings of the doors and windows.
From An Historical Mystery by Katharine Prescott Wormeley
It is a handsome species in the adult plumage, with bluish gray upper parts, and light under parts, finely vermiculated with grayish and black shafts to the feathers.
From The Bird Book Illustrating in natural colors more than seven hundred North American birds; also several hundred photographs of their nests and eggs. by Chester A. (Chester Albert) Reed
Its white mantle, delicately vermiculated with black, extends like a wedding veil over the head, back and tail, in striking contrast to the blue-black underparts, red cheek patches, and red legs.
From Camps and Trails in China A Narrative of Exploration, Adventure, and Sport in Little-Known China by Roy Chapman Andrews
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