desiccate
de·sic·cate/ˈdɛsɪkeɪt/verb, adjective, noun
desiccate is spelled D-E-S-I-C-C-A-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (de·sic·cate). It appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, desiccate means “To remove moisture from; to dry; (sometimes) to dry to an extreme degree” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in desiccate?
| Letters | 9: D-E-S-I-C-C-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: de·sic·cate |
| In writing | about once in every 42 million words; the 199,120th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is desiccate?
Desiccate appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce desiccate?
- UK /ˈdɛsɪkeɪt/
- UK /dɪˈsɪkeɪt/
- US /ˈdɛsɪkeɪt/
As a noun (“A substance which has been desiccated, that is, had its…”): /ˈdɛsɪkət/.
Desiccate has 3 syllables, split de·sic·cate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-desiccate.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-desiccate2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of desiccate
- desiccates present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- desiccating participle, present
- desiccated participle, past
- more desiccate comparative
- most desiccate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does desiccate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To remove moisture from; to dry; (sometimes) to dry to an extreme degree.
- 2
To preserve by drying.
- 3
rareTo become dry; to dry up.
adjective
- 1
Having had moisture removed; dehydrated, desiccated.
noun
- 1
A substance which has been desiccated, that is, had its moisture removed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Desiccate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does desiccate come from?
From Latin dēsiccō (“to dry completely, dry up”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix), from dē- (“completely, to exhaustion”, a prefix) + siccō (“to dry; to drain, exhaust”), from siccus (“dry”) + -ō (first conjugation verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, de- + siccate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).