dematerialize

verb

de·​ma·​te·​ri·​al·​ize ˌdē-mə-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌlīz How to pronounce dematerialize (audio)
dematerialized; dematerializing; dematerializes

transitive verb

: to cause to become or appear immaterial

intransitive verb

: to lose or appear to lose materiality

Examples of dematerialize in a Sentence

the image suddenly dematerialized, and once again we were staring at a blank screen
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The lively canvas, hardly an illustration of an event, employs light-reflective silver and golden-brown metallic paints applied in vast fields of paisley-like commas that dematerialize into a spatially ambiguous surface shimmer. Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2024 Hex Vision meanwhile dematerialized along with the rest of the illusion Wanda had conjured. Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 26 Oct. 2024 When the overhead lights began to rhythmically rise and subside, the object dematerialized before my eyes. Tara Anne Dalbow, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2024 Their lines are strict and the palette is confined to two materials, grey granite and mirror (which dematerializes to become the view). Town & Country, 25 Aug. 2023 Their mission was a lofty one: to dematerialize any barriers between themselves and the beauty of the landscape. ELLE Decor, 24 May 2023 Imagine being able to dematerialize from your living room and show up the next moment in Venice or the Amazon rainforest or the rings of Saturn (wearing an appropriate space suit, of course). Corey S. Powell, Discover Magazine, 15 June 2014 My interest in working with materials like light, color, water, fog, and other natural phenomena grew out of my desire to dematerialize the art object, to make things that were less physical than, say, ephemeral or atmospheric. Time, 27 Oct. 2022 How can the most miraculous material in the history of the world, funded up the wazoo, all but dematerialize? WIRED, 26 Aug. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1864, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of dematerialize was circa 1864

Dictionary Entries Near dematerialize

Cite this Entry

“Dematerialize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dematerialize. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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