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

… when visitors come to the lab he likes to show them his collection of curiosities, which includes a desiccated octopus.

—Elizabeth Kolbert

2

: 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

Examples of desiccated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This left the lake so dry it was considered a total loss, known only for the dust pollution generated off its desiccated shores. —Daniel Rothberg, Vox, 1 Oct. 2024

This desiccated river has become the unlikely locale for a massive riparian development that is planned for over 40 km along its banks and is being labeled the world’s largest riparian development scheme. —Saleem H. Ali, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2024

Yet which species disappeared in the crisis, and which ones rebounded when further tectonic shifts allowed the desiccated basin to refill, remained unclear. —science.org, 25 Sep. 2024

From the air, though, much of the river corridor still appears desiccated, treeless and up against commercial orchards, subdivisions and highways. —Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 30 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1