/ English Dictionary

MACERATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to grow thin or weak

Example:

The treatment emaciated him

Synonyms:

emaciate; macerate; waste

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "macerate" is one way to...):

debilitate; drain; enfeeble (make weak)

Cause:

emaciate (grow weak and thin or waste away physically)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

maceration (extreme leanness (usually caused by starvation or disease))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Soften, usually by steeping in liquid, and cause to disintegrate as a result

Example:

the gizzards macerates the food in the digestive system

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "macerate" is one way to...):

soften (make soft or softer)

"Macerate" entails doing...:

douse; dowse; drench; soak; sop; souse (cover with liquid; pour liquid onto)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

maceration (softening due to soaking or steeping)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Become soft or separate and disintegrate as a result of excessive soaking

Example:

the tissue macerated in the water

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "macerate" is one way to...):

soften (become soft or softer)

Verb group:

macerate (separate into constituents by soaking)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

macerative (accompanied by or characterized by maceration)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Separate into constituents by soaking

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Hypernyms (to "macerate" is one way to...):

separate (divide into components or constituents)

Verb group:

macerate (become soft or separate and disintegrate as a result of excessive soaking)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

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