exsiccate

E1X8S1I1C3C3A1T1E1
UK, US/ˈɛksɪkeɪt/

verb

To dry, to desiccate, to dehydrate.

Similar
parchdehydratedry updesiccate
Opposite
hydratemoisturize
OriginLatin exsicco, exsiccatus →
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Meanings

verbexsiccate (third-person singular simple present exsiccates, present participle exsiccating, simple past and past participle exsiccated)

present singular third person exsiccates · participle present exsiccating · participle past exsiccated · past exsiccated · alternative exiccate

  1. transitiveTo dry, to desiccate, to dehydrate.

    The guinea hen, so nearly exsiccated a few days earlier, dangles limp once again, as wet as if it had been freshly slaughtered.

    1982, TC Boyle, Water Music, Penguin, published 2006, page 147

    Synonyms: parch · Antonyms: hydrate, moisturize

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo dry, to desiccate, to dehydrate.

Similar
parch
Opposite
hydratemoisturize

More synonyms by meaning

verblose water or moisture

Similar
dehydratedry updesiccate
Broader
drydry out
Also see
dehydratedesiccatedry up

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinexsicco, exsiccatus
  2. Englishexsiccate

Borrowed from Latin exsicco, exsiccatus, from ex- + siccus (“dry”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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