sublimate
(chemistry) To heat (a substance) in a container so as to convert it into a gas which then condenses in solid form on cooler parts of the container.
To change (a solid substance) into a gas without breaking down or passing through the liquid state by heating it gently.
To change (a substance) from a gas into a solid through sublimation.
(by extension, figurative) To refine (something) until it disappears or loses all meaning.
(by extension, figurative, psychoanalysis) To modify (the natural expression of a sexual or primitive instinct) in a socially acceptable manner; to divert the energy of (such an instinct) into some acceptable activity.
Foreigners extol the American "energy" […] Basically it is the energy of violence, of free-floating resentment and anxiety unleashed by chronic cultural dislocations which must be, for the most part, ferociously sublimated. This energy has mainly been sublimated into crude materialism and acquisitiveness.
When he got home from the parade, however, Professor Solanka was seized by melancholy, his usual secret sadness, which he sublimated into the public sphere. Something was amiss with the world. The optimistic peace-and-love philosophy of his youth having given him up, he no longer knew how to reconcile himself to an increasingly phoney […] reality.
(by extension, chiefly figurative, archaic) To obtain (something) through, or as if through, sublimation.
(by extension, chiefly figurative, archaic) To purify or refine (a substance).
(by extension) Sublime.
(by extension, also figurative) To raise (someone) to a high office or status; to dignify, to elevate, to exalt.
(by extension, figurative) To raise something to a state of excellence; to improve.
(chemistry) Of a substance: to change from a solid into a gas without passing through the liquid state, with or without being heated.
(chemistry) Of a substance: to change from a gas into a solid without passing through the liquid state.
(figurative, psychoanalysis) To modify the natural expression of a sexual or primitive instinct in a socially acceptable manner; to divert the energy of such an instinct into some acceptable activity.
(figurative) To become higher in quality or status; to improve.
(chemistry) A product obtained by sublimation.
Track Your Progress
Sign in to study this word⭐Join Word Warriors to build your vocabulary and track your progress.