desiccate

Verb

desiccate (third-person singular simple present desiccates, present participle desiccating, simple past and past participle desiccated)

1. (transitive) To remove moisture from; to dry; (sometimes) to dry to an extreme degree.
   • […] As in Bodies deſsiccate, by Heat, or Age; For in them, when the Natiue Spirit goeth forth, and the Moiſture with it, the Aire with time getteth into the Pores.1631, Francis [Bacon], “IX. Century. [Experiment Solitary Touching the Two Kinds of Pneumaticals in Bodies.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London...
   • Except on the borders of the ocean, and on the mountain sides where it deposits moisture in a visible form, the sea breeze has a drying effect. It desiccates the soil with rapidity.1876 February, Henry Gibbons, “Notes on the Climate of San Francisco and of California, with Special Relation to Pulmonary Disorders”, in Henry Gibbons, Henry Gibbons, Jr., editors, Pacific Medical...

   Synonyms:

   dehydrate, dry out, parch, exsiccate, exiccate

   Antonyms:

   hydrate, moisten, moisturize, wet

2. (transitive) To preserve by drying.
   • The nuts are then passed into a double disc machine, and this travelling at a speed of 3,000 revolutions per minute desiccates the coconut.1929 July, “Uncle Gib”, “Children’s Corner”, in Gibsonia Gazette, volume 3, number 8, Perth, W.A.: Issued by the House of Foy & Gibson, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2019, page 6
   • All equipment used for removing the meat from the shell and for grinding, shredding, drying, classifying, and desiccating the coconut should be clean and free from pathogens.1975, Committee on Food Protection, Food and Nutrition Board, Division of Biological Sciences, Assembly of Life Sciences, National Research Council, “Nuts, Macaroni, and Noodle Products and Dry...
3. (intransitive, rare) To become dry; to dry up.
   • Lately, in France, they stopped the boiling process in the preparation of brown sugar a few degrees before the point of crystallization, which is 243°, or 244°; and then spreading their syrup over their copper pans, placed round a stove or bake house, leave the syrup to desiccate slowly, and to...1830 September 1, Thomas Spalding, “Sugar Cane, &c.: Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, in Reply to a Resolution of the House of Representatives of the 25th of January last, upon the Subject...
   • Favus is a chronic inflammation of the hair-follicles, associated with the production of a peculiar yellowish substance which surrounds the cylinder of the hair, and is seen through the epidermis as a minute circular spot, not raised above the level of the skin. The yellow substance, after a short...1842, Erasmus Wilson, “Diseases of the Hairs and Hair-follicles”, in A Practical and Theoretical Treatise on the Diagnosis, Pathology, & Treatment of Diseases of the Skin: […], London: John...

Adjective

desiccate (comparative more desiccate, superlative most desiccate)

1. Having had moisture removed; dehydrated, desiccated.
   • It [the byssus fungus] is not only capable of propagation by the most minute fragments, however rudely detached, but it also retains the principle of revivification for years together when in a desiccate state.1824 May 21, “Liolett”, “On Vegetable Revivification”, in The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, volume III, number LXXXVIII, London: Printed and published by J[ohn] Limbird, […]...
   • How many years have you been here? / […] / Before a desiccate sky left rivers of cracks / in the belly of your red earth?2016 August, Loretta Diane Walker, “Offsprings of Extremes [first published in Red River Review]”, in Barbara Blanks, editor, A Galaxy of Verse, volume 36, number 2, Garland, Tex.: A Galaxy of Verse...

   Synonyms:

   dried

Noun

UK/ˈdɛsɪkət/

desiccate (plural desiccates)

1. A substance which has been desiccated, that is, had its moisture removed.
   • The Cy dyes are shipped as a desiccate in sealed packs.2011, Virgil A. Rhodius, Carol A. Gross, “Using DNA Microarrays to Assay Part Function”, in Christopher Voigt, editor, Methods in Enzymology, volumes 497 (Synthetic Biology, Part A; Methods for...