ə̇ˈvapəˌrāt, ēˈ-, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English evaporaten, from Latin evaporatus, past participle of evaporare, from e- + vapor steam, vapor — more at vapor
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to pass off in vapor : escape and be dissipated either as a visible cloud or in particles that are too minute to be visible
b.
(1) : to pass away or disappear without leaving a trace : pass off harmlessly
the principal secret … evaporated with the advent of the Russian bomb — Atlantic
a book so beguiling that the faintest impulse to criticize evaporates — Dan Wickenden
suddenly the anger left him and his pugnaciousness evaporated — Erle Stanley Gardner
(2) : to shrink or diminish sharply or quickly
the industry's stocks of scrap evaporated, leaving only a few days' supply in some areas — New Internat'l Year Book
(3) : to grow weak : lose in substance, force, or value : decline
a thing of infinite beauty in the hands of a master … evaporates into meaningless overrefinement in his imitators — R.A.Hall b.1911
(4) : to take sudden leave : depart without leaving a trace : vanish
after his first wife evaporated, he married the girl — Hugh McGovern
a foreigner, for the purpose of evaporating, paid in advance for the hire of a boat — Norman Douglas
2. obsolete : to issue forth as vapor : become exhaled
3. : to give forth vapor : undergo evaporation — compare sublime
transitive verb
1.
a. : to convert from a liquid state into vapor : dissipate or draw off in vapor or fumes
b. : to deposit in the form of a film (as a metal or metallic salt) by sublimation of the material from a nearby solid source
c. : expel
evaporate neutrons from a nucleus
evaporate electrons from a thermionic filament
2. : to cause to disappear : do away with : dissolve , weaken , dissipate
the contradiction between ends and means … is what Marxism and like ideologies pretend to evaporate — David Riesman
3. : to expel moisture from (as by heat) leaving the solid portions : subject to evaporation
evaporate apples
4. obsolete : to send out as if vapor : give vent to : give off (as smoke or an odor) : emit
Synonyms: see vanish