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

In many cases, property owners and government authorities failed to keep up with the desiccated brush that was an accident waiting to happen. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 20 Jan. 2025

Advertisement Unusually wet winters in 2023 and 2024 nourished the growth of brush and grass on hillsides across the region, and then came the extremely warm and rainless weather since spring that has left desiccated vegetation throughout the Los Angeles area. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2025

With vegetation desiccated, any spark—from power lines, machinery, or natural causes like lightning—can ignite a fire. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025

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

Word History

First Known Use

1670, in the meaning defined at sense 1