[syn: arid, desiccate, desiccated]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Desiccate \Des"ic*cate\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
Desiccated; p. pr. & vb. n. Desiccating.] [L. desiccatus,
p. p. of desiccare to dry up; de- + siccare to dry, siccus
dry. See Sack wine.]
To dry up; to deprive or exhaust of moisture; to preserve by
drying; as, to desiccate fish or fruit.
[1913 Webster]
Bodies desiccated by heat or age. --Bacon.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Desiccate \Des"ic*cate\, v. i.
To become dry.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
desiccate
adj 1: lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless; "a technically
perfect but arid performance of the sonata"; "a desiccate
romance"; "a prissy and emotionless creature...settles
into a mold of desiccated snobbery"-C.J.Rolo [syn:
arid, desiccate, desiccated]
v 1: preserve by removing all water and liquids from; "carry
dehydrated food on your camping trip" [syn: dehydrate,
desiccate]
2: remove water from; "All this exercise and sweating has
dehydrated me" [syn: dehydrate, desiccate]
3: lose water or moisture; "In the desert, you get dehydrated
very quickly" [syn: exsiccate, dehydrate, dry up,
desiccate] [ant: hydrate]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
71 Moby Thesaurus words for "desiccate":
air-dry, anhydrate, bake, blast-freeze, blot, brine, brush, burn,
corn, cure, decay, dehumidify, dehydrate, deplete, devitalize,
diminish, divest, drain, droop, dry, dry up, dry-cure, dry-salt,
embalm, evaporate, exhaust, exsiccate, fade, fade away, fire, flag,
freeze, freeze-dry, fume, insolate, irradiate, jerk, kiln, kipper,
languish, marinade, marinate, mummify, parch, pickle, pine,
preservatize, quick-freeze, refrigerate, rub, salt, scorch, sear,
season, shrink, shrivel, smoke, smoke-cure, soak up, sponge, stuff,
sun, sun-dry, swab, torrefy, towel, weazen, wilt, wipe, wither,
wizen