processed

/ˈprɑsɛst/

/ˈprʌʊsɛst/

Could you live off a diet of white bread and canned soup forever? You're a fan of processed food then — i.e., food that's undergone a special treatment or procedure to change it.

When people are processed, the same rule applies: what goes in is different than what comes out. When the army processes you during recruitment, you enter a long-haired civilian and come out a shaven headed soldier. When the U.S. government processes your citizenship application, you start as an immigrant and come out a newly-minted citizen. Processed: the opposite of natural or original.

Definitions of processed

1. adjective

   subjected to a special process or treatment
   “processed cheeses are easy to spread”

   synonyms:

   prepared

   made ready or fit or suitable beforehand
2. adjective

   prepared or converted from a natural state by subjecting to a special process
   “processed ores”

   synonyms:

   finished

   (of materials or goods) brought to the desired final state

   pure

   free of extraneous elements of any kind

   cured, vulcanised, vulcanized

   (used of rubber) treated by a chemical or physical process to improve its properties (hardness and strength and odor and elasticity)

   milled, polished

   (of grains especially rice) having the husk or outer layers removed

   semi-processed

   having been subjected to partial processing

   treated

   subjected to a physical (or chemical) treatment or action or agent

   antonyms:

   unprocessed

   not altered from an original or natural state

   unfinished

   not brought to the desired final state

   impure

   combined with extraneous elements

   natural, raw, rude

   (used especially of commodities) being unprocessed or manufactured using only simple or minimal processes

   streaming

   (computer science) using or relating to a form of continuous tape transport; used mainly to provide backup storage of unedited data

   unvulcanised, unvulcanized

   (used of rubber) not subjected to the process of vulcanization

   untreated

   not subjected to chemical or physical treatment
3. adjective

   freed from impurities by processing
   synonyms: refined