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flocculate - 7 dictionary results

floc⋅cu⋅late

  [flok-yuh-leyt] verb, -lat⋅ed, -lat⋅ing.
Use flocculate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to form into flocculent masses.
–verb (used without object)
2. to form flocculent masses, as a cloud or a chemical precipitate; form aggregated or compound masses of particles.
Origin:
1820–30; floccul(us) + -ate 1

Related forms:
floc⋅cu⋅la⋅ble  [flok-yuh-luh-buhl] , adjective
floc⋅cu⋅la⋅tion, noun
floc⋅cu⋅la⋅tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To flocculate
floc·cu·late   (flŏk'yə-lāt')   
v.   floc·cu·lat·ed, floc·cu·lat·ing, floc·cu·lates

v.   tr.
  1. To cause (soil) to form lumps or masses.
  2. To cause (clouds) to form fluffy masses.
v.   intr.
To form lumpy or fluffy masses.
n.  Something that has formed lumpy or fluffy masses.
floc'cu·la'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Flocculate

Floc"cu*late\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flocculated; p. pr. & vb. n. Flocculating.] (Geol.) To aggregate into small lumps.

Flocculate

Floc"cu*late\, a. (Zo["o]l.) Furnished with tufts of curly hairs, as some insects.

Flocculate

Floc"cu*late\, v. t. To convert into floccules or flocculent aggregates; to make granular or crumbly; as, the flocculating of a soil improves its mechanical condition.

When applied to clay soils it [lime] binds the small particles together, or flocculates them. --I. P. Roberts.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Main Entry: 1floc·cu·late
Pronunciation: 'fläk-y&-"lAt
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -lat·ed;-lat·ing
transitive senses
: to cause to aggregate into a flocculent mass flocculate cell proteins> flocculate intransitivesenses
: to become flocculated —floc·cu·la·tion /"fläk-y&-'lA-sh&n/ noun

Main Entry: 2floc·cu·late
Pronunciation: -l&t, -"lAt
Function: noun
: something that has flocculated
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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