Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To solidify by or as if by freezing: "My aim . . . was to take the Hill by storm before . . . opposition to spending cuts congealed” ( David A. Stockman).
- v. To coagulate; jell.
- v. To cause to solidify or coagulate or to undergo a process likened to solidification or coagulation. See Synonyms at coagulate.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To convert from a fluid to a solid state, especially through loss of heat, as water in freezing, or melted metal or wax in cooling; freeze, stiffen, harden, concrete, or clot.
- To check the flow of; cause to run cold; thicken.
- To grow hard, stiff, or thick; pass from a fluid to a solid state, especially as an effect of cold; harden; freeze.
Wiktionary
- v. To change from a liquid to solid state perhaps by cold
- v. To coagulate, make curdled or semi-solid as gel or jelly
- v. To make rigid or immobile
- v. To become congealed, solidify
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To change from a fluid to a solid state by cold; to freeze.
- v. To affect as if by freezing; to check the flow of, or cause to run cold; to chill.
- v. To grow hard, stiff, or thick, from cold or other causes; to become solid; to freeze; to cease to flow; to run cold; to be chilled.
WordNet 3.0
- v. become gelatinous
Etymologies
- Middle English congelen, from Old French congeler, from Latin congelāre : com-, com- + gelāre, to freeze; see gel- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“If I insist we eat at the table, Sir is prone – however hungry – to leave his meal to congeal on the plate.”
“When organizations decay, they don't shrink and dry up, they ... congeal.”
“Roasted marrow bones had been allowed to cool for too long, and the marrow had started to congeal.”
“They don't have a single-discipline talent but rather a multitude of abilities that congeal into what our culture defines as interesting.”
The Huffington Post: Ben Uyeda: What Do the Kardashians Have in Common With the Occupy Movement?
“That sense of betrayal begins when skepticism gives way to certainty, when possibilities congeal into formulaic ideology.”
The Huffington Post: Robert Teitelman: Michael Hirsh's "Capital Offense"
“We must not let these crimes congeal into just more excitement over a well-cast villain.”
The Huffington Post: Reverend Billy: Oil Spills and Real Change
“He had a feel for improvisation, for the gestures that would congeal into history—climbing out on a rootop to address a crowd, clambering up on a tank.”
“Culture of Death types, eager to get in there and start harvesting before the juices start to congeal are suddenly as puzzled as Torture Apologists about the Definition Game.”
“Then he just sat there holding the binoculars and watching the ashen daylight congeal over the land.”
“Key is being a good problem-solver when food is misbehaving; like when cheeses congeal and slices of fruit pie collapse.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘congeal’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Darkness of Mind
fiend, lurid, phantom, macabre, rotten, ghastly, sallow, ghoulish, pallid, crooked, wan, congeal and 5 more...
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