exfoliate
to throw off in scales, splinters, etc.
to remove the surface of (a bone, the skin, etc.) in scales or laminae.
to throw off scales or flakes; peel off in thin fragments: The bark of some trees exfoliates.
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.
Medicine/Medical. to separate and come off in scales, as scaling skin or any structure separating in flakes.
Origin of exfoliate
1Other 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
/ (ɛksˈfəʊlɪˌeɪt) /
(tr) to wash (a part of the body) with a granular cosmetic preparation in order to remove dead cells from the skin's surface
(of bark, skin, etc) to peel off in (layers, flakes, or scales)
(intr) (of rocks or minerals) to shed the thin outermost layer because of weathering or heating
(of some minerals, esp mica) to split or cause to split into thin flakes: a factory to exfoliate vermiculite
Origin of exfoliate
1Derived 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
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