exsiccate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exsicco, exsiccatus, from ex- + siccus (dry).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈɛksɪkeɪt/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Verb

exsiccate (third-person singular simple present exsiccates, present participle exsiccating, simple past and past participle exsiccated)

  1. (transitive) To dry, to desiccate, to dehydrate.
    Synonym: parch
    Antonyms: hydrate, moisturize
    • 1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 147:
      The guinea hen, so nearly exsiccated a few days earlier, dangles limp once again, as wet as if it had been freshly slaughtered.

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

exsiccāte

  1. second-person plural present active imperative of exsiccō