dehydrated

dehydrated — adjective

1. if a person or animal is dehydrated, their body has lost too much fluid (often t

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

if a person or animal is dehydrated, their body has lost too much fluid (often through sweating, illness, or not drinking enough), leaving them feeling weak, dizzy, or unwell.

Example

After running the half-marathon under a hot sun, Camila felt completely dehydrated.

predicative: feel + dehydrated

The hikers became badly dehydrated when their water bottles ran dry on the second day.

become + adverb + dehydrated

Common collocations
  • severely dehydrated
  • badly dehydrated
  • clinically dehydrated
  • feel dehydrated
  • become dehydrated
Synonyms
  • parched

    informal; usually about feeling very thirsty rather than a clinical state

  • thirsty

    milder; just wanting a drink, not necessarily medically dehydrated

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

be dehydrated

feel dehydrated

become dehydrated

Usage Note

Subject is usually a person or animal. Often paired with adverbs like 'badly', 'severely', 'mildly', or 'clearly'. Distinguish from sense 2, which describes food or materials, not living bodies.

Common Mistakes

I am too dehydrate after the run.
I am too dehydrated after the run.
use the -ed form as an adjective; 'dehydrate' is the verb.
My skin feels dehydrated of water.
My skin feels dehydrated.
no preposition is needed; the meaning is already complete.

2. describes food, fruit, or other materials that have had nearly all their moistur

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes food, fruit, or other materials that have had nearly all their moisture taken out so they will not spoil and can be stored for a long time, often becoming light and dry.

Example

Roya packed dehydrated apricots and nuts for her three-day mountain hike.

attributive: dehydrated + food noun

Most camping meals are sold as dehydrated pouches that just need hot water.

passive context: sold as dehydrated

Common collocations
  • dehydrated food
  • dehydrated fruit
  • dehydrated meal
  • dehydrated vegetables
  • dehydrated milk
Synonyms
  • dried

    everyday word; covers any drying method, including air-drying and sun-drying

  • freeze-dried

    specific industrial process where food is frozen first; preserves more flavour

  • desiccated

    more technical or scientific; often used for coconut and lab samples

Antonyms
  • fresh

    with full natural moisture, not preserved

  • rehydrated

    water has been added back

Grammar Patterns

dehydrated + noun

Usage Note

Almost always attributive (placed before a noun): 'dehydrated fruit', 'dehydrated meal'. Subject is food, herbs, or similar dry goods, not a living body — that meaning belongs to sense 1.

Common Mistakes

These apples taste so dehydrated and fresh.
These dried apples taste sweet and chewy.
'dehydrated' is correct only for the processing method; pair it with neutral or factual descriptions, not 'fresh'.
I bought a dehydrate soup pack.
I bought a dehydrated soup pack.
keep the -ed form when modifying a noun.

Word family

  • dehydrate
    verbB2
  • dehydration
    nounB2
  • hydrated
    adjectiveB2
  • rehydrate
    verbB2
  • rehydrated
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/2

All these adjectives describe food or material that has lost most of its moisture, but they differ in process and register. 'Dried' is the everyday word and covers any method — air, sun, oven, or machine. 'Dehydrated' is slightly more technical and usually refers to controlled, low-heat machine drying used for camping meals, fruit snacks, and vegetable powders. 'Freeze-dried' names a specific industrial process where food is first frozen, then the ice is removed in a vacuum; this keeps colour, shape, and flavour better than dehydration, so astronaut food and high-end backpacking meals are usually freeze-dried. 'Desiccated' is the most formal or scientific, common in laboratory writing and on packets of 'desiccated coconut'. So you might pack 'dried apricots' for a picnic, 'dehydrated soup' for camping, and bake with 'desiccated coconut'.

dried ↗freeze-drieddesiccated

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • become dehydrated
  • feel dehydrated
  • dehydrated camping food
  • severely dehydrated patient

Etymology

GreekLatinModern English

Built from the Latin-Greek prefix 'de-' (meaning 'remove' or 'reverse') and the Greek root 'hydro-' (meaning 'water'). It came into English via scientific writing in the 19th century — first about chemistry, where compounds had water removed, and later about food preservation and medical conditions where the human body loses fluid.