vegetate

verb

veg·​e·​tate ˈve-jə-ˌtāt How to pronounce vegetate (audio)
vegetated; vegetating

intransitive verb

1
: to lead a passive existence without exertion of body or mind
2
a
: to grow in the manner of a plant
also : to grow exuberantly or with proliferation of fleshy or warty outgrowths
b
: to produce vegetation

transitive verb

: to establish vegetation in or on

Examples of vegetate in a Sentence

I just spent the weekend vegetating at home. I'm worried that after I retire I'll just sit at home, watch TV, and vegetate.
Recent Examples on the Web About 30 minutes later, rescuers made voice contact with Blessing but were unable to reach him until about midnight, due to the steep and thickly vegetated terrain, Fish and Game said. Nick Stoico, BostonGlobe.com, 17 July 2023 All the turtles bought on impulse, vegetating in plastic lagoons. Anne Fadiman, Harper’s Magazine , 10 Feb. 2023 Why not vegetate? Jon Michail, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2022 Spores can also persist indefinitely in contaminated soil and may vegetate in grazeland, which could further spread the infection among South Dakota’s cattle. From Usa Today Network and Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 29 Sep. 2022 The Tigers didn't act fast to quash the initial report, rather allowing the idea of Hinch's opt-out clause to vegetate for more than a year. Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 26 June 2022 In the 58 years since the Skycrane’s first flight, fire seasons have lengthened across a quarter of the Earth’s vegetated surface, giving rise to about a 20 percent increase in the global length of the fire weather season. Eric Tegler, Popular Mechanics, 9 Mar. 2020 Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. National Geographic, 21 Jan. 2020 Yes, football has its problems, but what's more indulgent, more American, than vegetating on the couch for four hours, gorging on queso and analyzing beer commercials with a bunch of your favorite people? Aj Willingham, CNN, 1 Feb. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vegetate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin vegetātus, past participle of vegetāre "to live, grow," going back to Latin, "to impart energy to, invigorate," verbal derivative of vegetus "vigorous, active, lively," probably, if from *vegitus, verbal adjective of vegēre "to give vigor to, enliven" — more at wake entry 1

First Known Use

1605, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of vegetate was in 1605

Dictionary Entries Near vegetate

Cite this Entry

“Vegetate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vegetate. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

vegetate

verb
veg·​e·​tate ˈvej-ə-ˌtāt How to pronounce vegetate (audio)
vegetated; vegetating
1
: to live or grow in the manner of a plant
2
: to lead a lazy life by doing little but eating and growing
3
: to establish plant life in or on
vegetated hillsides

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