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MACERATE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they macerate ... he / she / it macerates
Past simple: macerated
Past participle: macerated
-ing form: macerating
Sense 1
Meaning:
Cause to grow thin or weak
Example:
The treatment emaciated him
Synonyms:
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
