sublimate

Sublimate is defined as to cause the change of a gas into a solid or a solid into a gas without becoming a liquid, or to have a refining effect on someone or something.

(verb)

An example of sublimate is dry ice turning directly into carbon dioxide from solid form.

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See sublimate in Webster's New World College Dictionary

transitive verb sublimated, sublimating

  1. to cause to change directly from a solid to a gas, or from a gas to a solid, without becoming a liquid
  2. to have a purifying or ennobling influence or effect on
  3. to express (socially or personally unacceptable impulses, specif. sexual impulses) in constructive, acceptable forms, often unconsciously

Origin: < L sublimatus, pp. of sublimare: see sublime,

intransitive verb

to undergo sublimating

adjective

sublimated

noun

a substance that is the product of sublimating

Related Forms:

See sublimate in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb sub·li·mat·ed, sub·li·mat·ing, sub·li·mates
verb, transitive
  1. Chemistry To cause (a solid or gas) to change state without becoming a liquid.
  2. a. To modify the natural expression of (a primitive, instinctual impulse) in a socially acceptable manner.
    b. To divert the energy associated with (an unacceptable impulse or drive) into a personally and socially acceptable activity.
verb, intransitive
Chemistry
To transform directly from the solid to the gaseous state or from the gaseous to the solid state without becoming a liquid.

Origin:

Origin: Latin sublīmāre, sublīmāt-, to elevate

Origin: , from sublīmis, uplifted

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