exfoliate

[ eks-foh-lee-eyt ]
See synonyms for exfoliate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),ex·fo·li·at·ed, ex·fo·li·at·ing.
  1. to throw off in scales, splinters, etc.

  2. to remove the surface of (a bone, the skin, etc.) in scales or laminae.

verb (used without object),ex·fo·li·at·ed, ex·fo·li·at·ing.
  1. to throw off scales or flakes; peel off in thin fragments: The bark of some trees exfoliates.

  2. Geology.

    • to split or swell into a scaly aggregate, as certain minerals when heated.

    • to separate into rudely concentric layers or sheets, as certain rocks during weathering.

  1. Medicine/Medical. to separate and come off in scales, as scaling skin or any structure separating in flakes.

Origin of exfoliate

1
First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin exfoliātus, past participle of exfoliāre “to strip off leaves”; see origin at ex-1, foliate

Other words from exfoliate

  • ex·fo·li·a·tive [eks-foh-lee-ey-tiv, -uh-tiv], /ɛksˈfoʊ liˌeɪ tɪv, -ə tɪv/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for exfoliate

exfoliate

/ (ɛksˈfəʊlɪˌeɪt) /


verb
  1. (tr) to wash (a part of the body) with a granular cosmetic preparation in order to remove dead cells from the skin's surface

  2. (of bark, skin, etc) to peel off in (layers, flakes, or scales)

  1. (intr) (of rocks or minerals) to shed the thin outermost layer because of weathering or heating

  2. (of some minerals, esp mica) to split or cause to split into thin flakes: a factory to exfoliate vermiculite

Origin of exfoliate

1
C17: from Late Latin exfoliāre to strip off leaves, from Latin folium leaf

Derived forms of exfoliate

  • exfoliation, noun
  • exfoliative, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012