macerate

• POS: Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: mac=er=ate

CIDE DICTIONARY

macerate, v. t. [L. maceratus, p. p. of macerare to make soft, weaken, enervate; cf. Gr. to knead.].

•  To make lean; to cause to waste away.  Harvey.  [1913 Webster]
•  To subdue the appetites of by poor and scanty diet; to mortify.  Baker.  [1913 Webster]
•  To soften by steeping in a liquid, with or without heat; to wear away or separate the parts of by steeping; as, to macerate animal or vegetable fiber.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

macerate, v.
1 tr. & intr. make or become soft by soaking.
2 intr. waste away by fasting.

Derivative

maceration n. macerator n.

Etymology

L macerare macerat-

THESAURUS

macerate

Sanforize, agonize, attenuate, bathe, bloody, brew, chew, claw, consume, convulse, crucify, crush, douche, drench, drouk, dry up, emacerate, emaciate, excruciate, flush, harrow, imbrue, imbue, impale, impregnate, infiltrate, infuse, inject, kill by inches, lacerate, lancinate, lave, leach, lixiviate, martyr, martyrize, mash, masticate, parch, percolate, permeate, preshrink, pulp, pulpify, punish, rack, rinse, rip, saturate, savage, scarify, sear, seethe, shrink, shrivel, smash, soak, sodden, sop, souse, squash, steep, thin, torment, torture, wash, waste, waste away, waterlog, weazen, wither, wizen, wring

ROGET THESAURUS

macerate

Water

VB be watery, reek, add water, water, wet, moisten, dilute, dip, immerse, merge, immerge, submerge, plunge, souse, duck, drown, soak, steep, macerate, pickle, wash, sprinkle, lave, bathe, affuse, splash, swash, douse, drench, dabble, slop, slobber, irrigate, inundate, deluge, syringe, inject, gargle.