sublimation

American  

[suhb-luh-mey-shuhn] / ˌsʌb ləˈmeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. Psychology. the diversion of the energy of a sexual or other biological impulse from its immediate goal to one of a more acceptable social, moral, or aesthetic nature or use.

2. Chemistry. the act, fact, or process of subliming.

3. a purification or refinement; ennoblement.

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sublimation Scientific  

/ sŭb′lə-mā′shən /

1. The process of changing from a solid to a gas without passing through an intermediate liquid phase. Carbon dioxide, at a pressure of one atmosphere, sublimates at about −78 degrees Celsius. Ice and snow on the Earth's surface also sublimate at temperatures below the freezing point of water.

2. Compare deposition

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sublimation ¹ Cultural  

1. In chemistry, the direct conversion of a solid into a gas, without passage through a liquid stage. (See phases of matter.)

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sublimation ² Cultural  

1. In Freudian psychology, a defense mechanism by which the individual satisfies a socially prohibited instinctive drive (usually sexual or aggressive) through the substitution of socially acceptable behavior. For example, someone with strong sexual drives who paints nude portraits may be engaging in sublimation.

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Other Word Forms

• nonsublimation noun
• resublimation noun
• sublimational adjective

Etymology

Origin of sublimation

First recorded in 1350–1400; from Middle French, from Late Latin sublimation-, stem of sublimatio “elevation,” equivalent to Latin sublimāt(us), past participle of sublimāre “to elevate” + -iō -ion ( def. ); sublimate ( def. )

Example Sentences

Because Mars has a thin atmosphere and a sharp temperature difference between warm sand and the ice, the underside of these blocks instantly turns to gas in a process known as sublimation.

From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2025

In many ways, the film was a sublimation of the career-long anxieties of its director/co-writer, Billy Wilder, and co-star Swanson.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025

But different comets are made of different mixes of ice, and sublimation can be a quirky process.

From Scientific American • Jun. 26, 2023

The other four works on view are luxuriously tall dye sublimation prints on aluminum, three or four panels each, depicting … what?

From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2023

So I lost almost 300 liters to sublimation.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

Related Words

• reticence
• self-consciousness
• shyness