Melt

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)

CIDE DICTIONARY

Melt, n. 

 See 2d Milt.  [1913 Webster]

Melt, v. t. [AS. meltan; akin to Gr. me`ldein, E. malt, and prob. to E. smelt, v. Smelt, v., Malt, Milt the spleen.].

•  To reduce from a solid to a liquid state, as by heat; to liquefy; as, to melt wax, tallow, or lead; to melt ice or snow.  [1913 Webster]
•  To soften, as by a warming or kindly influence; to relax; to render gentle or susceptible to mild influences; sometimes, in a bad sense, to take away the firmness of; to weaken.  [1913 Webster]

  "Thou would'st have . . . melted down thy youth."  [1913 Webster]

  "For pity melts the mind to love."  [1913 Webster]

Syn. -- To liquefy; fuse; thaw; mollify; soften.

Melt, v. i. 

•  To be changed from a solid to a liquid state under the influence of heat; as, butter and wax melt at moderate temperatures.  [1913 Webster]
•  To dissolve; as, sugar melts in the mouth.  [1913 Webster]
•  To be softened; to become tender, mild, or gentle; also, to be weakened or subdued, as by fear.  [1913 Webster]

  "My soul melteth for heaviness."  [1913 Webster]

  "Melting with tenderness and kind compassion."  [1913 Webster]
•  To lose distinct form or outline; to blend. See fondue.  [1913 Webster]

  "The soft, green, rounded hills, with their flowing outlines, overlapping and melting into each other."  [1913 Webster]
•  To disappear by being dispersed or dissipated; as, the fog melts away.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Melt, v. & n.
--v.
1 intr. become liquefied by heat.
2 tr. change to a liquid condition by heat.
3 tr. (as molten adj.) (usu. of materials that require a great deal of heat to melt them) liquefied by heat (molten lava; molten lead).
4 a intr. & tr. dissolve. b intr. (of food) be easily dissolved in the mouth.
5 intr. a (of a person, feelings, the heart, etc.) be softened as a result of pity, love, etc. b dissolve into tears.
6 tr. soften (a person, feelings, the heart, etc.) (a look to melt a heart of stone).
7 intr. (usu. foll. by into) change or merge imperceptibly into another form or state (night melted into dawn).
8 intr. (often foll. by away) (of a person) leave or disappear unobtrusively (melted into the background; melted away into the crowd).
9 intr. (usu. as melting adj.) (of sound) be soft and liquid (melting chords).
10 intr. colloq. (of a person) suffer extreme heat (I'm melting in this thick jumper).
--n.
1 liquid metal etc.
2 an amount melted at any one time.
3 the process or an instance of melting.

Idiom

melt away disappear or make disappear by liquefaction. melt down
1 melt (esp. metal articles) in order to reuse the raw material.
2 become liquid and lose structure (cf. MELTDOWN). melting-point the temperature at which any given solid will melt.
melting-pot
1 a pot in which metals etc. are melted and mixed.
2 a place where races, theories, etc. are mixed, or an imaginary pool where ideas are mixed together. melt water water formed by the melting of snow and ice, esp. from a glacier.

Derivative

meltable adj. & n. melter n. meltingly adv.

Etymology

OE meltan, mieltan f. Gmc, rel. to MALT

THESAURUS

Melt

affect, assuage, bake, be consumed, be gone, blend, broil, cease, cease to be, cease to exist, colliquate, come home to, cook, cut, decline, decoagulate, decoct, decrease, defrost, deliquesce, dematerialize, depart, die, die away, die out, diminish, disappear, disarm, dispel, disperse, dissipate, dissolve, do a fade-out, dwindle, erode, evanesce, evaporate, exit, fade, fade away, fade out, flee, fleet, flit, fluidify, fluidize, flux, fly, forbear, forgive, fuse, give quarter, go, go away, go deep, go through one, grieve, have mercy upon, have pity, heat, hide, hold in solution, infuse, leach, leave no trace, leave the scene, let up on, liquefy, liquesce, liquidize, lixiviate, mellow, melt away, melt down, melt into, melt like snow, melt the heart, merge, mollify, move, pardon, pass, pass away, pass out, penetrate, percolate, perish, perspire, pierce, reach, refine, relax, relent, render, reprieve, retire from sight, roast, run, sadden, scorch, shrink, sink, sink away, smart, smelt, soften, solubilize, solve, spare, sting, stir, suffer an eclipse, sweat, swelter, take pity on, thaw, thin, touch, touch a chord, unclot, unfreeze, vanish, vanish from sight, warm, waste, waste away, wear away

ROGET THESAURUS

Melt

Conversion

VB be converted into, become, get, wax, come to, turn to, turn into, evolve into, develop into, turn out, lapse, shift, run into, fall into, pass into, slide into, glide into, grow into, ripen into, open into, resolve itself into, settle into, merge into, emerge as, melt, grow, come round to, mature, mellow, assume the form of, assume the shape of, assume the state of, assume the nature of, assume the character of, illapse, begin a new phase, assume a new phase, undergo a change, convert into, resolve into, make, render, mold, form, remodel, new model, refound, reform, reorganize, assimilate to, bring to, reduce to.

Pity

VB pity, have pity, show pity, take pity, commiserate, compassionate, condole, sympathize, feel for, be sorry for, yearn for, weep, melt, thaw, enter into the feelings of, forbear, relent, relax, give quarter, wipe the tears, parcere subjectis, give a coup de gr=ace, put out of one's misery, raise pity, excite pity, touch, soften, melt, melt the heart, propitiate, disarm, ask for mercy, supplicate, cry for quarter, beg one's life, kneel, deprecate, pity, have pity, show pity, take pity, commiserate, compassionate, condole, sympathize, feel for, be sorry for, yearn for, weep, melt, thaw, enter into the feelings of, forbear, relent, relax, give quarter, wipe the tears, parcere subjectis, give a coup de gr=ace, put out of one's misery, raise pity, excite pity, touch, soften, melt, melt the heart, propitiate, disarm, ask for mercy, supplicate, cry for quarter, beg one's life, kneel, deprecate.

Fluidity

VB be fluid, flow, liquefy, melt, condense.

Liquefaction

VB render liquid, liquefy, run, deliquesce, melt, solve, dissolve, resolve, liquate, hold in solution, condense, precipitate, rain.

Calefaction

VB heat, warm, chafe, stive, foment, make hot, sun oneself, sunbathe, go up in flames, burn to the ground (flame), fire, set fire to, set on fire, kindle, enkindle, light, ignite, strike a light, apply the match to, apply the torch to, rekindle, relume, fan the flame, add fuel to the flame, poke the fire, stir the fire, blow the fire, make a bonfire of, melt, thaw, fuse, liquefy, burn, inflame, roast, toast, fry, grill, singe, parch, bake, torrefy, scorch, brand, cauterize, sear, burn in, corrode, char, calcine, incinerate, smelt, scorify, reduce to ashes, burn to a cinder, commit to the flames, consign to the flames, boil, digest, stew, cook, seethe, scald, parboil, simmer, do to rags, take fire, catch fire, blaze.