Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Desiccate \Des"ic*cate\ (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p.
   {Desiccated}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Desiccating}.] [L. desiccatus,
   p. p. of desiccare to dry up; de- + siccare to dry, siccus
   dry. See {Sack} wine.]
   To dry up; to deprive or exhaust of moisture; to preserve by
   drying; as, to desiccate fish or fruit.

         Bodies desiccated by heat or age.        --Bacon.

Desiccate \Des"ic*cate\, v. i.
   To become dry.

Source : WordNet®

desiccate
     v 1: preserve by removing all water and liquids from; "carry
          dehydrated food on your camping trip" [syn: {dehydrate}]
     2: remove water from; "All this exercise and sweating has
        dehydrated me" [syn: {dehydrate}]
     3: lose water or moisture; "In the desert, you get dehydrated
        very quickly" [syn: {dehydrate}, {dry up}] [ant: {hydrate}]

desiccate
     adj : lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless; "a technically perfect
           but arid performance of the sonata"; "a desiccate
           romance"; "a prissy and emotionless creature...settles
           into a mold of desiccated snobbery"-C.J.Rolo [syn: {arid},
            {desiccated}]