Word of the Day

: October 21, 2011

sublimate

verb SUB-luh-mayt

What It Means

1 : to cause to pass directly from the solid to the vapor state

2 : to direct the expression of (a desire or impulse) from a primitive to a more socially and culturally acceptable form

sublimate in Context

Jeb's letter made Marcy want to scream and throw things, but instead she sublimated her anger by writing a tart reply.

"Watching both films, it was hard not to sense a certain hesitation on the part of the filmmakers, as if they'd sublimated their darkest artistic impulses to a reflexive posture of decency and restraint…." -- From an article by Justin Chang in Variety, August 22, 2011

Did You Know?

To sublimate is to change the form, but not the essence. Physically speaking, it means to transform solid to vapor; psychologically, it means changing the outlet, or means, of expression from something base and inappropriate to something more positive or acceptable. The word "sublimate" comes from the Latin verb "sublimare," which means "to lift up" or "raise" and which is also the ancestor of our "sublime." "Sublimate" itself once meant "to elevate to a place of dignity or honor" or "to give a more elevated character to," but these meanings are now obsolete.