dehydrate

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UK/diːhaɪˈdɹeɪt/UK/diːˈhaɪdɹeɪt/Canada, US/ˌdihaɪˈdɹeɪt/Canada, US/diˈhaɪdɹeɪt/

verb

To remove water from; to dry up.

“dehydrate food”

Similar
desiccateexsiccateparchdry up
Opposite
hydratemoistenmoisturizesoak
OriginEnglish hydrate ← French hydrate ← Ancient Greek ὑδρο- (hudro-) →
UncommonScrabble 17
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Meanings

verbdehydrate (third-person singular simple present dehydrates, present participle dehydrating, simple past and past participle dehydrated)

present singular third person dehydrates · participle present dehydrating · participle past dehydrated · past dehydrated

  1. transitiveTo remove water from; to dry up.

    dehydrate food

    2 more examples

    Running in the heat can quickly dehydrate you.

    The fruit was dehydrated and packed for storage.

  2. intransitiveTo lose water from one's body; to become dehydrated.

    dehydrate rapidly

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
desiccateexsiccateparch
Opposite
hydratemoistenmoisturizesoak

verbpreserve by removing all water and liquids from

Similar
desiccate
Broader
preservekeep

verbremove water from

Similar
desiccate
Broader
drydry out

verblose water or moisture

Similar
exsiccatedry updesiccate
Opposite
hydrate
Broader
drydry out
Also see
desiccatedrydry outdry upexsiccateseasonunwater

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*de
  2. Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
  3. Proto-Italic*dē
  4. Latindē
  5. Latindē-
  6. Englishde-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  9. Proto-Hellenic*údōr
  10. Ancient Greekῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr)
  11. Ancient Greekὑδρο- (hudro-)
  12. Frenchhydr-
  13. Frenchhydrate
  14. Englishhydrate
  15. Englishdehydrate

From de- + hydrate.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan deshidratar
  • deshidratarto lose or remove water
Czech dehydrovat
  • dehydrovatto lose or remove water
Danish dehydrere
  • dehydrereto lose or remove water
Dutch dehydrateren
  • dehydraterento lose or remove water
Finnish kuivata, kuivattaa
  • kuivatato lose or remove water
  • kuivattaato lose or remove water
  • poistaa vesito lose or remove water
French déshydrater
  • déshydraterto lose or remove water
German dehydrieren
  • dehydrierento lose or remove water
Indonesian mendehidrasi
  • mendehidrasito lose or remove water
Italian disidratare
  • disidratareto lose or remove water
Japanese 脱水する
  • 脱水する (dassui suru)to lose or remove water
Māori whakamaroke, tauraki
  • whakamaroketo lose or remove water
  • taurakito lose or remove water
  • whakatāreheto lose or remove water
Polish odwadniać, odwodnić
  • odwadniaćto lose or remove water
  • odwodnićto lose or remove water
Portuguese desidratar
  • desidratarto lose or remove water
Romanian deshidrata
  • deshidratato lose or remove water
Russian обезво́живать, обезво́дить
  • обезво́живать (obezvóživatʹ)to lose or remove water
  • обезво́дить (obezvóditʹ)to lose or remove water
  • дегидрати́ровать (degidratírovatʹ)to lose or remove water
Spanish deshidratar
  • deshidratarto lose or remove water
Swedish torka ut
  • torka utto lose or remove water
Tagalog patuyuin
  • patuyuinto lose or remove water
Turkish kurumak
  • kurumakto lose or remove water
Welsh dadhydradu
  • dadhydraduto lose or remove water
Cite this entry
APA

dehydrate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dehydrate

MLA

“dehydrate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dehydrate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dehydrate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dehydrate.

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