desalinate

D2E1S1A1L1I1N1A1T1E1
UK/diːˈsælɪneɪt/

verb

To remove the salt from something, especially from seawater for use in a domestic water supply

Similar
desaltdesalinizedesalinise
Opposite
salinate
OriginEnglish salinate ← Latin dē- ← Proto-Italic *dē →
Scrabble 11
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Meanings

verbdesalinate (third-person singular simple present desalinates, present participle desalinating, simple past and past participle desalinated)

present singular third person desalinates · participle present desalinating · participle past desalinated · past desalinated

  1. To remove the salt from something, especially from seawater for use in a domestic water supply

Synonyms & antonyms

verbremove salt from

Similar
desaltdesalinizedesalinise
Opposite
salinate
Broader
change
Also see
debrinedesalinizedesalt

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. Englishsaline
  8. Englishsalinate
  9. Englishdesalinate

From de- + salinate.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan dessalar, dessalinitzar
  • dessalarremove the salt from something
  • dessalinitzarremove the salt from something
Danish afsalte
  • afsalteremove the salt from something
Finnish poistaa suola, desalinoida
  • poistaa suolaremove the salt from something
  • desalinoidaremove the salt from something
French dessaler
  • dessalerremove the salt from something
German entsalzen
  • entsalzenremove the salt from something
Greek αφαλατώνω, ξαρμυρίζω
  • αφαλατώνω (afalatóno)remove the salt from something
  • ξαρμυρίζω (xarmyrízo)remove the salt from something
Italian desalinizzare
  • desalinizzareremove the salt from something
Norwegian Bokmål avsalte
  • avsalteremove the salt from something
Polish odsalać, odsolić
  • odsalaćremove the salt from something
  • odsolićremove the salt from something
Romanian desaliniza
  • desalinizaremove the salt from something
Spanish desalar, desalinizar
  • desalarremove the salt from something
  • desalinizarremove the salt from something
Vietnamese khử muối
  • khử muốiremove the salt from something
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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