emulsify
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Usage
What does emulsify mean? To emulsify is to form an emulsion—a mixture of two liquids that don’t fully combine. An emulsion may look like a single liquid, but it’s made up of particles of one liquid distributed throughout another liquid. For example, if you emulsify oil and water, it forms an emulsion in which small droplets of oil are suspended in the water, but the two liquids aren’t fully blended together (as they would be if you stirred together water and vinegar, for example). In technical chemistry terms, an emulsion is a colloidal suspension in which the substances mixed together are both liquids. Both colloids and suspensions involve particles of one substance distributed in another without being dissolved. Emulsions are used in a variety of contexts, including pharmacology, cooking, and photography. In cooking, liquids or liquid-like ingredients are emulsified in order to make sauces with a smooth consistency. A common example of an emulsion is the kind of salad dressings called a vinaigrette, which is made by emulsifying oil and vinegar. Example: To emulsify oil and vinegar, you have to whisk very hard to separate the oil into tiny droplets, or else the two liquids will separate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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emulsibilitynoun
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emulsifiabilitynoun
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emulsificationnoun
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emulsifiernoun
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emulsibleadjective
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emulsifiableadjective
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unemulsifiedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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emulsifysimple
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emulsifiessimple
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have emulsifiedperfect
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has emulsifiedperfect
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am emulsifyingprogressive
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are emulsifyingprogressive
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is emulsifyingprogressive
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have been emulsifyingperfect progressive
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has been emulsifyingperfect progressive
Past
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emulsifiedsimple
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had emulsifiedperfect
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was emulsifyingprogressive
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were emulsifyingprogressive
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had been emulsifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of emulsify
First recorded in 1855–60; from Latin ēmuls(us) ( see emulsion) + -ify
Explanation
When you emulsify something, you mix it so thoroughly that it becomes an emulsion, or a mixture of two liquids that can't be completely blended together. Home cooks emulsify any time they make a good oil-based salad dressing, thoroughly mixing the oil with the vinegar or other liquid ingredients. While the oil, because it's not soluble, can't be completely combined with the vinegar, you can emulsify the two so that the tiny drops of oil are dispersed across the volume of vinegar and the texture of the salad dressing is satisfying. Emulsify comes from the Latin word emulsus, or "milked out."
Vocabulary lists containing emulsify
Fast Food Nation
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Lupe Wong Won't Dance
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When using these components, food manufacturers need to emulsify, or mix them, together.
From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024
The therapy is a diglyceride formulation -- two omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA, bound to a glyceride molecule -- which enhances their ability to emulsify into tiny, concentrated particles.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 2024
Mustard adds to a vinaigrette in two ways: It adds heat, flavor and dimension, and it helps emulsify or thicken the dressing.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 2, 2023
“The Good John Proctor” shares DNA with Monahon’s other plays, which thoroughly emulsify history and fiction to give voice to previously marginal figures or to connect historical events to our moment.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
Pipette 5 c.c. sterile normal saline into the culture bottle and emulsify the entire surface growth in it.
From The Elements of Bacteriological Technique A Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by Eyre, J. W. H. (John William Henry)
But you’d only be partially correct since the turn emulsifies the supernatural into the ludicrous.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2023
The mixture will split at first, but keep on whisking until it emulsifies.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2021
Did you know molasses emulsifies the olive oil and keeps the little fat molecules from stumbling into each other, thus allowing the oil and vinegar to mix?
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 6, 2020
If you liked that album, there’s no reason you wouldn’t like this one, which also emulsifies carols and Christmas standards to the consistency of a smoothie.
From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2016
Kerosene emulsifies grease and makes it easy to rinse away.
From School and Home Cooking by Greer, Carlotta Cherryholmes
Then, slowly pour in a steady stream of olive oil while continuing to blend until everything is emulsified.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026
The team says that result confirmed the hypothesis that VFD processing could be a "green" one-step technique for more stable, emulsified viscous liquids.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 11, 2024
To get the right flavor, I ground the dry mushrooms into a powder and let it steep quickly, right in the pan, in a little of the reserved pasta water that emulsified with some butter.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 5, 2023
When seasoned with lemon and garlic and whisked with ice water, tahini goes from gloppy and oily to pale, thick and emulsified with a bright and pungent flavor that’s also earthy and rich.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 4, 2022
Moreover, on standing the oil will not again separate from the water; it has been emulsified.
From Household Administration Its Place in the Higher Education of Women by Various
That’s true if you’re emulsifying the sauce by using pasta water, tossing the pasta in the sauce and adding cheese and other fats to help it cling.
From Washington Post ● May 9, 2022
Improvisatory in feel but not in fact, Mr. Roberts’s choreography merges his own distinct rhythmic sensibility with the energy signature of each dancer, emulsifying contemporary physicality and period cool.
From New York Times ● Dec. 18, 2020
You can also apply an emulsifying ointment or olive or coconut oil – not inside – to act as a moisturiser.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 8, 2019
For the stubborn Tray, adapting to this new paradigm in order to achieve his dreams is about as easy as emulsifying oil and water.
From Salon ● Apr. 2, 2019
Multiples of the loop are prepared by emulsifying 1, 2, 5, or 10 loops each with 1 c.c. sterile bouillon in separate sterile capsules.
From The Elements of Bacteriological Technique A Laboratory Guide for Medical, Dental, and Technical Students. Second Edition Rewritten and Enlarged. by Eyre, J. W. H. (John William Henry)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
