dessicate

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...

   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
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...

See all 5 meanings of desiccate