ENGLISH
REFERENCE

evaporate

v.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ɪˈvæpɝˌeɪt// UK //ɪvˈæpəɹˌeɪt// evap·o·rate Archaic

v. to turn from a liquid into a gas or steam. You use this when water disappears into the air because of heat.

v. to convert or change from a liquid or solid state into vapour. Often used figuratively to describe the sudden disappearance of abstract qualities like hope or money.


SIMPLE

The water in the pan will evaporate if you boil it.

CONTEXTUAL

After the heavy rain stopped, the puddles on the pavement began to evaporate in the afternoon sun.

COMPLEX

The initial excitement surrounding the merger began to evaporate as shareholders realised the projected profits were based on overly optimistic market data.

Synonyms
Origin

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.

Usage

The verb can be used both transitively and intransitively.

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