DESICCATION
Dictionary entry overview: What does desiccation mean?
• DESICCATION (noun)
The noun DESICCATION has 2 senses:
1. dryness resulting from the removal of water
2. the process of extracting moisture
Familiarity information: DESICCATION used as a noun is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• DESICCATION (noun)
Meaning:
Dryness resulting from the removal of water
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Synonyms:
dehydration; desiccation
Hypernyms ("desiccation" is a kind of...):
dryness; waterlessness; xerotes (the condition of not containing or being covered by a liquid (especially water))
Meaning:
The process of extracting moisture
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural processes
Synonyms:
drying up; desiccation; evaporation; dehydration
Hypernyms ("desiccation" is a kind of...):
extraction (the process of obtaining something from a mixture or compound by chemical or physical or mechanical means)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "desiccation"):
freeze-drying; lyophilisation; lyophilization (a method of drying food or blood plasma or pharmaceuticals or tissue without destroying their physical structure; material is frozen and then warmed in a vacuum so that the ice sublimes)
inspissation (the process of thickening by dehydration)
Holonyms ("desiccation" is a part of...):
plastination (a process involving fixation and dehydration and forced impregnation and hardening of biological tissues; water and lipids are replaced by curable polymers (silicone or epoxy or polyester) that are subsequently hardened)