macerate

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macerate

/ˈmæs.ə.ɹeɪt/ US, UK
/ˈmæs.ə.ɹɪt/ US, UK

Where it comes from

First attested in 1534; borrowed from Latin mācerātus, perfect passive participle of mācerō (see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3)), from Proto-Indo-European *mag-, *mak- (“to knead”), whence make. Cognate with French macérer.

verb macerates · macerating · macerated

To soften (something) or separate it into pieces by (or as if by) soaking it in a heated or unheated liquid.
To reduce solids to small pieces (in a macerator). Like gas killing, IMD - whereby the interlocking arms of a machine are used to crush chicks, or the rapidly rotating blades used to macerate them - is a permitted killing method for day-old chicks in the UK and EU, and this method is still used by some hatcheries.
Similar: comminute, crush, pulverize
archaic To make lean; to cause to waste away. Baal scuttles with ten tails Between as many legs as he could carry— Perhaps Thomas poking through the holes And finding resolution beyond the scales And incorporeal pain of the hammered Messiah,
obsolete To subdue the appetite by poor or scanty diet; to mortify.
obsolete To mortify the flesh in general. “My dear child, how are you employed?” I knew the voice of the Superior, and I replied, “My father, I was sleeping.” “And I was macerating myself at the foot of the altar for you, my child,—the scourge is red with my blood.” I returned no answer, for I felt the maceration was better merited by the b
obsolete, participle, past past participle of macerate

noun macerates

A macerated substance.

Translations

Every language

verb to soften or separate by immersion in a liquid

Español	macerar
Português	macerar
Français	macérer
Deutsch	mazerieren
Italiano	macerare
Русский	вымачивать vymačivatʹ, размачивать razmačivatʹ

verb to subdue the appetite by a poor diet

Русский	изнуря́ть iznurjátʹ

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MLA

"macerate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/macerate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

macerate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/macerate

Chicago

"macerate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/macerate.

BibTeX

@misc{macerate_2026,
  title = {macerate},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/macerate},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}