[v. suhb-luh-meyt; n., adj. suhb-luh-mit, -meyt] 
verb, -mat⋅ed, -mat⋅ing, noun, adjective | 1. | Psychology. to divert the energy of (a sexual or other biological impulse) from its immediate goal to one of a more acceptable social, moral, or aesthetic nature or use. |
| 2. | Chemistry.
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| 3. | to make nobler or purer: To read about great men sublimates ambition. |
| 4. | to become sublimated; undergo sublimation. |
| 5. | Chemistry. the crystals, deposit, or material obtained when a substance is sublimated. |
| 6. | purified or exalted; sublimated. |
| sub·li·ma·tion (sŭb'lə-mā'shən) n.
|
In Freudian psychology, a defense mechanism by which the individual satisfies a socially prohibited instinctive drive (usually sexual or aggressive) through the substitution of socially acceptable behavior. For example, someone with strong sexual drives who paints nude portraits may be engaging in sublimation.
In chemistry, the direct conversion of a solid into a gas, without passage through a liquid stage. (See phases of matter.)
sublimate sub·li·mate (sŭb'lə-māt')
v. sub·li·mat·ed, sub·li·mat·ing, sub·li·mates
To transform directly from the solid to the gaseous state or from the gaseous to the solid state without becoming a liquid.
To modify the natural expression of an instinctual impulse, especially a sexual one, in a socially acceptable manner.
sublimation sub·li·ma·tion (sŭb'lə-mā'shən)
n.
The act or process of sublimating.
Something that has been sublimated.
An unconscious defense mechanism in which unacceptable instinctual drives and wishes are modified into more personally and socially acceptable channels.
| sublimation (sŭb'lə-mā'shən) Pronunciation Key
The process of changing from a solid to a gas without passing through an intermediate liquid phase. Carbon dioxide, at a pressure of one atmosphere, sublimates at about -78 degrees Celsius. Ice and snow on the Earth's surface also sublimate at temperatures below the freezing point of water. Compare deposition. |
ləˌmeɪt