I. -kə̇]t, -ˌkā], usu ]d.+V adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin desiccatus
: desiccated
a desiccate romance — Allen Tate
II. ˈdesə̇ˌkāt, -sēˌ-, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin desiccatus, past participle of desiccare to dry up, from de- + siccare to dry, from siccus dry — more at sack
transitive verb
1. : to dry up or cause to dry up : deprive or exhaust of moisture ; especially : dry thoroughly
artificial desiccating of timber in an oven with a current of hot air
the surgeon removed a suspect mole by electrodesiccation and thoroughly desiccated the immediately adjoining tissue with a needle electrode
requiring a desiccated hermetically sealed container
2. : to preserve (a food) by drying : dehydrate
one cup of desiccated coconut
3.
a. : to drain of vitality ; especially : to divest of vigor, spirit, passion, or a capability of evoking mental or emotional excitement
a charming little romance … not desiccated and compressed within the pages of a book — Elinor Wylie
Mr. Copland's musical style — a deft fusion of ingredients assembled from Debussy and Satie and of desiccated elements of American folk music — Winthrop Sargeant
b. : to divest of spontaneity, animating or interesting properties, or stimulating capacity
a secret-police system first unsettles, then desiccates, then calcifies a free society — E.B.White
the lopsidedly historical approach to literature which dominated and desiccated American academic studies for many years — G.H.Genzmer
the thoughts and behavior of Londoners whose lives were desiccated by war — James Stern
c. : to divest of or divorce from aesthetic sensitivity and human sensibilities and abandon to intellectual aridity
the typical scholar filled with such learning as has been caricatured as absent-minded and desiccated personality — C.F.Richards
intransitive verb
: to become dried up : undergo a desiccating or divesting process
some very small poikilotherms desiccate and encapsulate for protection — Samuel Brody
English philosophy, lost in the aridities of logical positivism and semantics, has tended to become pedantically desiccated — Times Literary Supplement
Synonyms: see dry
III. like desiccate I\ noun
( -s )
: a product of or residue from desiccation