deliquesce

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The Word of the Day for August 2 is: 

deliquesce   \del-ih-KWESS\   verb
    *1 : to dissolve or melt away
     2 : to become soft or liquid with age or maturity -- used of some fungal 
structures (as the gills of a mushroom)

Example sentence: 
     Someone forgot to put the butter back in the refrigerator, instead leaving 
it to deliquesce on the kitchen counter.

Did you know?
     "Deliquesce" derives from the prefix "de-" ("completely, away") and a form 
of the Latin verb "liquere," meaning "to be fluid." Things that deliquesce, it 
could be said, turn to mush in more ways than one. In scientific contexts, a 
substance that deliquesces absorbs moisture from the atmosphere until it 
dissolves in the absorbed water and forms a solution. When plants and fungi 
deliquesce, they lose rigidity as they age. When "deliquesce" is used in 
non-scientific contexts, it is often in a figurative or humorous way to suggest 
the act of "melting away" under exhaustion, heat, or idleness, as in "teenagers 
deliquescing in 90-degree temperatures."

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence. 






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