distillation

noun

dis·​til·​la·​tion ˌdi-stə-ˈlā-shən 

1

a

: the process of purifying a liquid by successive evaporation and condensation

b

: a process like distillation

gradual distillation of the truth

also : an instance of such distilling

2

: something distilled : distillate sense 2

Examples of distillation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Incentivize their work, providing the time and resources to write more popular-level distillations of their research or to educate alumni groups about the threats campuses are facing. —Ars Staff, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2025

In doing so, his luxury brand aesthetic is a distillation of everything that’s shaped him: the clean precision of Italian tailoring, the meditative beauty of modernist architecture, and the confidence of understatement. —Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes.com, 15 Apr. 2025

His jurisprudence relating to the powers of the Presidency under Article II of the Constitution, which vests the executive power in a single chief executive, represents the purest distillation of the unitary executive theory. —Cristian Farias, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025

The Mobile Suit Gundam film trilogy is a distillation of the original 1979 Mobile Suit Gundam series. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 2 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing distillation

• destructive distillation

Rhymes for distillation

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

distillation

noun

dis·​til·​la·​tion ˌdis-tə-ˈlā-shən 

: a process of heating a liquid or solid until it sends off a vapor and then cooling the vapor until it becomes liquid

Medical Definition

distillation

noun

dis·​til·​la·​tion ˌdis-tə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: a process that consists of driving gas or vapor from liquids or solids by heating and condensing to liquid products and that is used especially for purification, fractionation, or the formation of new substances

2

: something distilled