ablate

A1B3L1A1T1E1
US/əˈbleɪt/

verb

To remove or decrease something by cutting, erosion, melting, evaporation, or vaporization.

OriginEnglish ablationbf. ← Middle English albacioun ← Late Latin ablātiō →
RareFirst used Late 15ᵗʰ century.Scrabble 8
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Meanings

verbablate (third-person singular simple present ablates, present participle ablating, simple past and past participle ablated)

present singular third person ablates · participle present ablating · participle past ablated · past ablated

  1. transitiveTo remove or decrease something by cutting, erosion, melting, evaporation, or vaporization.First known use Late 15ᵗʰ century.
  2. intransitiveTo undergo ablation; to become melted or evaporated and removed at a high temperature.First known use Mid 20ᵗʰ century.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
  3. Proto-Italic*ap
  4. Latinab
  5. Latinab-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*telh₂-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*tl̥h₂tós
  8. Latinlatus
  9. Latinablātus
  10. Middle Englishablat
  11. Late Latinablātiō
  12. Middle Englishalbacioun
  13. Englishablationbf.
  14. Englishablate

From Middle English ablat (“taken away”), from Latin ablātus, past participle of auferō (“to remove”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). First attested in the 1500s, it became obsolete by the early 1600s. Returned into use as a back-formation from ablation.

More words from Middle English, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

tabelaLabatetablea
Cite this entry
APA

ablate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ablate

MLA

“ablate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ablate. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ablate,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ablate.

Source: ablate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.