vegetate

[ vej-i-teyt ]
See synonyms for: vegetatevegetatedvegetating on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object),veg·e·tat·ed, veg·e·tat·ing.
  1. to grow in, or as in, the manner of a plant.

  2. to be passive or unthinking; to do nothing: to lie on the beach and vegetate.

  1. Pathology. to grow, or increase by growth, as an excrescence.

Origin of vegetate

1
1595–1605; <Latin vegetātus (past participle of vegetāre to quicken, enliven), equivalent to veget(us) lively (originally past participle of vegēre to give vigor) + -ātus-ate1

Words Nearby vegetate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vegetate in a sentence

  • I've been here a month without seeing a soul; I should go mad, if I had to vegetate for another seven months.

    Lady Lilith | Stephen McKenna

British Dictionary definitions for vegetate

vegetate

/ (ˈvɛdʒɪˌteɪt) /


verb(intr)
  1. to grow like a plant; sprout

  2. to lead a life characterized by monotony, passivity, or mental inactivity

  1. pathol (of a wart, polyp, etc) to develop fleshy outgrowths

Origin of vegetate

1
C17: from Late Latin vegetāre to invigorate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012