crystallize

Word family

Related topics: Chemistry, Geology

crys·tal·lize (also crystallise British English) /ˈkrɪstəlaɪz/ verb

1 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]HC if a liquid crystallizes, it forms crystals （使）结晶

The liquid will crystallize at 50 degrees centigrade.

这种液体在50摄氏度时结晶。

2 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]UNDERSTAND if an idea, plan etc crystallizes or is crystallized, it becomes very clear in your mind （使）〔想法、计划等〕变得明朗而具体

Inside her a thought was crystallizing.

她心中有个想法开始形成了。

—crystallization /ˌkrɪstəlaɪˈzeɪʃən $ -lə-/ noun [uncountableU]

Examples from the Corpus

crystallize• So crystallize a substance once: there will soon be microscopic traces of it everywhere about your laboratory.• Quartz, on the other hand, is the most stable and crystallizes at the lowest temperature.• Sea salt crystallizes from tidal pools when the water evaporates.• What state it was in before it crystallized he does not explain; certainly it was not glassy.• It is merely that Gandhi was ready for a back-to-nature move and a passage in Ruskin crystallized his determination.• Griner clipped pictures from magazines to crystallize ideas he had for an addition to be built on the ground floor.• Olivine and plagioclase continue to crystallize in the upper layer until critical concentrations are again reached and another pulse of sedimentation occurs.• His requirements were crystallized into a list of specific organizational demands, twenty-two in all, each one of them hard fought.• The sperm, as it cools, tends to crystallize into lumps.• The recent events really crystallized my opposition to war.

From Longman Business Dictionary