MACERATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does maceration mean? 

• MACERATION (noun)
  The noun MACERATION has 2 senses:

1. softening due to soaking or steeping

2. extreme leanness (usually caused by starvation or disease)

  Familiarity information: MACERATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MACERATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Softening due to soaking or steeping

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("maceration" is a kind of...):

softening (the process of becoming softer)

Derivation:

macerate (soften, usually by steeping in liquid, and cause to disintegrate as a result)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Extreme leanness (usually caused by starvation or disease)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

boniness; bonyness; emaciation; gauntness; maceration

Hypernyms ("maceration" is a kind of...):

leanness; spareness; thinness (the property of having little body fat)

Derivation:

macerate (cause to grow thin or weak)