desiccated
adjective
des·ic·cat·ed
ˈde-si-ˌkā-təd 
1
: dried up
a desiccated landscape
: preserved by drying
a cup of desiccated coconut
… all around were barrels of dried apples and apricots, shriveled and desiccated …—
Margaret Laurence
Margaret Laurence… when visitors come to the lab he likes to show them his collection of curiosities, which includes a desiccated octopus.—Elizabeth Kolbert
Elizabeth Kolbert2
: drained of emotional or intellectual vigor or vitality
Singer's utilitarianism is so dry and desiccated that it drains the drama from philosophy.—George F. Will
George F. WillExamples of desiccated in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Depending on temperature, the eggs hatch within one to 10 days, becoming teeny, wormlike larvae that feed on desiccated blood that the adult fleas have fed on and pooped out.
—Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 18 Sep. 2025
Instead, the evidence suggested that the bodies were dried and preserved, buried in a desiccated state, rather than as fresh cadavers.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
In Washington, Kennedy has surrounded himself with other prominent fans of dietary supplements, who’ve promoted everything from weight-loss pills to capsules of desiccated organ meat.
—Christian Orozco, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
The Hiroshima weapon three days earlier had flash-desiccated leaves on trees out to a distance of almost ten miles — the Nagasaki device, up to fifty miles.
—Charles Pellegrino, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025
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Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 18 Sep. 2025
Instead, the evidence suggested that the bodies were dried and preserved, buried in a desiccated state, rather than as fresh cadavers.
—Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
In Washington, Kennedy has surrounded himself with other prominent fans of dietary supplements, who’ve promoted everything from weight-loss pills to capsules of desiccated organ meat.
—Christian Orozco, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025
The Hiroshima weapon three days earlier had flash-desiccated leaves on trees out to a distance of almost ten miles — the Nagasaki device, up to fifty miles.
—Charles Pellegrino, Rolling Stone, 6 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for desiccated
Cite this Entry
“Desiccated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desiccated. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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