liquefy

/ˌlɪkwəˈfaɪ/

/ˈlɪkwəfaɪ/

Other forms: liquefied; liquefying; liquefies

When you turn a solid into a liquid, like when you set an ice cube in the sunshine and watch it melt into a puddle of water, you liquefy it.

You can liquefy a solid by heating it until it melts, and you can also say the substance itself liquefies. A jar of coconut oil that's hard and solid in the refrigerator will liquefy if you leave it on the counter on a warm summer day. The Latin root of liquefy is liquefacere, "make liquid," from liquere, "be fluid," and facere, "to make."

Definitions of liquefy

1. verb

   make (a solid substance) liquid, as by heating
   “liquefy the silver”

   synonyms: liquidise, liquidize, liquify

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
2. verb

   become liquid
   “The garden air overnight liquefied into a morning dew”

   type of:

   change state, turn

   undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
3. verb

   become liquid or fluid when heated
   “the frozen fat liquefied”

   synonyms: flux, liquify

   types:

   condense, distil, distill

   undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops

   dethaw, dissolve, melt, thaw, unfreeze, unthaw

   become or cause to become soft or liquid

   fuse

   become plastic or fluid or liquefied from heat

   deliquesce

   melt, liquefy, or dissolve, by absorbing moisture from the air

   de-ice, defrost, deice

   make or become free of frost or ice

   type of:

   change integrity

   change in physical make-up