DESICCATION

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

I. (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The process of extracting moisture

Synonyms:

dehydration; desiccation; drying up; evaporation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("desiccation" is a kind of...):

extraction (the process of obtaining something from a mixture or compound by chemical or physical or mechanical means)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "desiccation"):

freeze-drying; lyophilisation; lyophilization (a method of drying food or blood plasma or pharmaceuticals or tissue without destroying their physical structure; material is frozen and then warmed in a vacuum so that the ice sublimes)

inspissation (the process of thickening by dehydration)

Holonyms ("desiccation" is a part of...):

plastination (a process involving fixation and dehydration and forced impregnation and hardening of biological tissues; water and lipids are replaced by curable polymers (silicone or epoxy or polyester) that are subsequently hardened)

Derivation:

desiccate (remove water from)

desiccate (preserve by removing all water and liquids from)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Dryness resulting from the removal of water

Synonyms:

dehydration; desiccation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("desiccation" is a kind of...):

dryness; waterlessness; xerotes (the condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water))