etiolate

/'i:tiouleit/

Thân thiện

The gardener accidentally etiolated the celery by leaving it in the dark cupboard.

Definition

1. Verb (transitive):

   • To cause (a plant) to become pale and weak by depriving it of light, resulting in a lack of chlorophyll.
   • To cause (a person or their complexion) to become pale or sickly in appearance.

2. Adjective:

   • (Especially of plants) Pale and weak due to a lack of light, resulting in underdeveloped chlorophyll.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:
  • The lack of sunlight will etiolate the seedlings, making them long, spindly, and yellow.
  • Prolonged illness can etiolate a person's skin, giving it a wan, colorless look.
• Adjective:
  • The etiolate shoots grew towards the crack of light in a desperate search for energy. (Note: The adjectival form "etiolated" is far more common.)

Advanced Usage

• Scientific/Botanical Context: The term is used precisely to describe the physiological condition of plants grown in darkness, characterized by elongated stems, small leaves, and white or yellow coloration.
  • Researchers studied the etiolated plants to understand photomorphogenesis.
• Figurative/Literary Use: It can be used metaphorically to describe something weakened, drained of vitality, or made insipid.
  • The bureaucratic process seemed to etiolate all creative energy from the project.

Variants and Related Words

• Etiolated (Adjective): The much more frequent participial adjective form.
  • The etiolated celery in the cellar was white and tender.
  • He had an etiolated, bookish pallor.
• Etiolation (Noun): The process or condition of being etiolated.
  • The etiolation of the plant was a clear sign it needed more light.

Synonyms

• Verb: bleach, blanch, pale, weaken, debilitate, enervate.
• Adjective (etiolated): blanched, chlorotic (specifically for plants), pallid, wan, sickly.

Antonyms

• Verb: strengthen, fortify, green (for plants), darken.
• Adjective (etiolated): robust, healthy, verdant, green, florid.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. (especially of plants) developed without chlorophyll by being deprived of light
   • etiolated celery

Verb

1. make pale or sickly
   • alcohol etiolates your skin
2. bleach and alter the natural development of (a green plant) by excluding sunlight
3. make weak by stunting the growth or development of

Từ đồng nghĩa

• etiolated
• blanched