effervesce
Americanverb (used without object)
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to give off bubbles of gas, as fermenting liquors.
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to issue forth in bubbles.
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to show enthusiasm, excitement, liveliness, etc..
The parents effervesced with pride over their new baby.
verb
-
(of a liquid) to give off bubbles of gas
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(of a gas) to issue in bubbles from a liquid
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to exhibit great excitement, vivacity, etc
Other Word Forms
- effervescence noun
- effervescible adjective
- effervescingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of effervesce
1695–1705; < Latin effervēscere, equivalent to ef- ef- + ferv- hot ( fervent ) + -ēscere -esce
Explanation
When things effervesce, they fizz and froth like a carbonated drink. Champagne is a well known sweet wine that effervesces. Anything that bubbles in a foamy, frothy way can be said to effervesce. Soda poured over ice in a glass effervesces, and waves on a beach sometimes effervesce as they break, leaving tiny bubbles on the sand. Things that are bubbly or carbonated are effervescent — and both words come from a Latin root, effervescere, "to boil up or boil over," combining ex, "out," and fervescere, "begin to boil."
Vocabulary lists containing effervesce
Bronx Masquerade
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"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," Vocabulary from the short story
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The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
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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.
DiDonato’s vibrato, which oscillates so quickly it seems to effervesce, is built for highly ornamented Baroque melodies.
From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2022
Wodehouse, whose accounts of upper-class twits effervesce with smile-inducing similes: “She came leaping towards me, like Lady Macbeth coming to get first-hand news from the guest-room.”
From Washington Post • Mar. 31, 2021
But watching Alexandra Socha effervesce her way through the madcap “Look What Happened to Mabel” number in the Encores! revue “Hey, Look Me Over!” put me firmly in the when’s-it-gonna-happen camp.
From New York Times • Dec. 21, 2018
We’re excited for two more, by the end of which Slate will likely be published on thin wafers that effervesce into provocative arguments on your tongue.
From Slate • Jun. 24, 2016
For bodies of different natures, very easily effervesce upon being blended together.
From Medica Sacra or a Commentary on on the Most Remarkable Diseases Mentioned in the Holy Scriptures by Mead, Richard
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.
