Dictionary

evaporate en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /i-/ (uncommon)
• (US) audio
• /ɪˈvæp.ə.ɹæɪt/ (Australia)
• /ɪˈvæp.ə.ɹeɪt/ (Canada, UK, US)

Etymology

First attested in 1545, borrowed from Latin ēvapōrātus, the perfect passive participle of ēvapōrō (“to evaporate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). See also Middle English evaporaten (“to draw off humors or "spirits" as "vapor"”) and evaporen (“to draw off bodily fluid, an excess or toxic matter by converting it into "vapor"; to treat (a part of the body) by drawing off toxic matter converted into "vapor"”). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.

Meanings

1. (obsolete) evaporated

Forms

wikipedia: Early Modern English

evaporate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /i-/ (uncommon)
• (US) audio
• /ɪˈvæp.ə.ɹæɪt/ (Australia)
• /ɪˈvæp.ə.ɹeɪt/ (Canada, UK, US)

Etymology

First attested in 1545, borrowed from Latin ēvapōrātus, the perfect passive participle of ēvapōrō (“to evaporate”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix). See also Middle English evaporaten (“to draw off humors or "spirits" as "vapor"”) and evaporen (“to draw off bodily fluid, an excess or toxic matter by converting it into "vapor"; to treat (a part of the body) by drawing off toxic matter converted into "vapor"”). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.

Meanings

1. (ergative) To transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state.
   • When an ultrasonic beam is fired at the microcannons, the emulsion evaporates, expanding rapidly into gas. This creates enough force to push the nanobullets out at velocities reaching several metres per second. 2016 February 1, Tom Whipple, “Microcannon firing nanobullets: the future of targeted medicine”, in The Times:
   • McCoy’s team, including 66 researchers across four continents, found the salt and minerals left behind as water on Bennu, or its larger parent asteroid, evaporated. The minerals include sodium phosphates, carbonates, sulfates, chlorides and fluorides, some of which are necessary to the formation of life. 2025 January 29, Ashley Strickland, “Historic asteroid sample reveals the ‘building blocks of life are in fact extraterrestrial in origin,’ scientists say”, in CNN:
2. (transitive) To expel moisture from (usually by means of artificial heat), leaving the solid portion.
   • to evaporate apples
3. (figuratively, transitive) To give vent to; to dissipate.
   • [M]y lord of Eſſex choſe to evaporate his thoughts in a Sonnet (being his common vvay) to be ſung before the Queen, […] c. 1635 (date written), Henry Wotton, “Of Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex; and George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham: Some Observations by Way of Parallel in the Time of Their Estates of Favour”, in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ. Or, A Collection of Lives, Letters, Poems; […], London: […] Thomas Maxey, for R[ichard] Marriot, G[abriel] Bedel, and T[imothy] Garthwait, published 1651, →OCLC, page 8:
4. (figuratively, intransitive) To disappear; to escape or pass off without effect.
   • The hosts initially looked like they lacked a spring in their step, but fears of further agony evaporated in the seventh minute with a goal of typical Arsenal quality. 2011 March 2, Chris Whyatt, “Arsenal 5 – 0 Leyton Orient”, in BBC Sport:
   • Near-synonym: go up in smoke
   • That can make A.I. feel like something of a Catch-22 for workers: If the technology succeeds in reshaping the economy, they could lose their jobs. If it fails to live up to the hype, their retirement savings could evaporate. 2026 June 13, Ben Casselman, “Wages Are Falling. Wealth Is Surging. No Wonder Americans Are Unhappy.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • There won’t be a funeral. You’ll never find my body. […] I’ll just evaporate somewhere, hidden away from all eyes, watching as my body goes back to wherever it once came from, which is the ether. 2026 June 13, Andrew Stafford, quoting Lydia Lunch, “Lydia Lunch: ‘There won’t be a funeral. You’ll never find my body’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • To give moderate liberty for griefs to evaporate […] is a safe way. 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Seditions and Troubles”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
5. (figuratively, transitive) To cause to disappear or to escape or pass off without effect.
   • Gay people have belabored on this issue far too long and far too hard to allow the efforts of years to be evaporated through this obscene ruling. Our fights will continue, if not in the courts, then in the legislatures. 1976 April 10, “Now What?”, in Gay Community News, page 4:

Forms

Coordinates

sublimate

Deriveds

nonevaporating · nonevaporated · reevaporate · unevaporated · coevaporate · evaporative · photoevaporate

Relateds

vapour · evaporator · evaporation

Synonyms

go up in smoke

Translations (70)

uk випаро́вуватися ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fi esittää (to give vent to) · ja 揮発する ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · de verdunsten ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · el εξατμίζω ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ro seca (to expel moisture from) · sv förångas ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ast vaporiar ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fi höyrystyä ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ca evaporar ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ja 蒸発する ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fi haihtua ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · uk ви́паруватися ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ru испари́ться ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · de verdampfen ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ru испари́ть ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · es evaporar ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · cmn 揮發 /挥发 ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fr évaporer ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · pl wyparować ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · da fordampe ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · sv dunsta ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ru испаря́ть ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fi häipyä (to disappear) · de evaporieren ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fi kuivata (to expel moisture from) · pt evaporar ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fr s'évaporer ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · io vaporeskar ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · sh isparavati ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · su ngebul ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · it evaporare ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · sv dunsta (to disappear) · nb fordunste ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · hu elpárolog ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · cs vypařit se ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · de dörren (to expel moisture from) · hu párolog ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · sh испаравати ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ia evaporar ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · nl verdampen ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ro evapora ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · es evaporarse ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ro se vaporiza ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · sv avdunsta ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · mi whakaeto ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · uk ви́парувати ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · bg изпарявам ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · pl parować ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · nb fordampe ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · vi bay hơi ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ru испаря́ться ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ar تَبَخَّرَ ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · vi bốc hơi ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · sv avdunsta (to expel moisture from) · ota اوچمق ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ast esvaporar ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ast evaporar ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · cmn 蒸發掉 /蒸发掉 ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · de verduften (to disappear) · th ระเหย ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · de ausdörren (to expel moisture from) · pl wyparowywać ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · ja 気化する ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · uk випаро́вувати ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fi tuulettaa (to give vent to) · cy tawchu ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state) · fi haihtua (to disappear) · de verschwinden (to disappear) · id menguap ((transitive or intransitive) to transition from a liquid state into a gaseous state)

wikipedia: Early Modern English