Part of speech:

Verb, both the transitive kind ("We sublimate our anger;" "We sublimate our anger into action") and the intransitive kind ("Our anger sublimates;" "Our anger sublimates into action").

Other forms: 

The other verb forms are "sublimated" and "sublimating."

And the noun for the process is "sublimation."

There are a couple adjectives. If you need one that means "made pure" or "transformed into nearly nothing," probably "sublimated" will get your meaning across most clearly. Another adjective meaning "pure or almost nonexistent" is "sublimate," spelled the same as the verb but pronounced "SUB luh mutt."

The other adjectives have different meanings. "Sublime," as we saw, usually means "pure, perfect, amazing." And "subliminal" has a meaning that's stayed much closer to the original Latin bits: subliminal things occur just below a threshold, usually the threshold of consciousness.

As we saw, "sublimate" has two main figurative meanings: "to transform into something better" and "to transform into nothingness." That first meaning is much more common today, so we'll focus on it.

In that sense, "sublimate" is a semi-common, scientific-sounding verb. It helps you describe someone's process of taking some too-intense, unacceptable emotion or desire or belief of theirs and channeling it into something that is acceptable.

Talk about people sublimating their emotions or desires or beliefs, or sublimating them into something else.

examples:

"Whenever I visit friends who have cats, the urge to own a pet takes hold. But then the fastidious, house-proud side of me kicks in as I imagine tripping over a litter box at 2 a.m., or my furniture getting covered in scratches and fur. So I sublimate my longing by gazing wistfully through the windows of the A.S.P.C.A. adoption van, or, even more mawkishly, watching pet videos on YouTube." 
  — David Rooney, New York Times, 4 June 2010

"There's something tearstained about even the wildest flights of Chabonian fancy, as if each wondrous occurrence stood in for some feeling the writer couldn't state outright. Chabon appears aware of this tendency to sublimate pain into fantasy." 
  — Katy Waldman, Slate, 30 November 2016

has this page helped you understand "sublimate"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain both figurative meanings of "sublimate" without saying "transform" or "vaporize."

try it out:

In Time, Joel Stein wrote:

"Countries have all kinds of disagreements and problems with one another. They are dealing with one another constantly, making treaties and trading currencies and whatever else it is they do. The World Cup is mildly entertaining [to Americans] because you get to see them sublimate their little issues by kicking a ball at one another, sort of like watching your children backyard-wrestle."

Could you explain what he means: how are countries sublimating their issues with each other on the soccer field? And in your opinion, is that a fair or accurate thing to say? Why or why not?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is Slide Into The Title: Elton John Edition! 

Have you noticed how pop songs tend to use rhyme, rhythm, and semantics to guide you straight into singing the correct title, even if you’ve never heard it before? I love that, how the title clicks into place. See if you can slide into a complete title, given a snippet of lyrics.

You can check out some examples here.

Try this one today:

"Well I'm keeping off the streets since you came to town.
Since you claimed my heart from the lost and found,
I have said goodbye to my fooling around.
Now you and me, babe, we got candy by ___ _____."

To see the answer, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. In a scientific sense, the opposite of SUBLIMATION (a solid transforming straight into a gas) is DEPOSITION (a gas transforming straight into a solid). But in a figurative sense, the opposite of SUBLIMATION could be

A. OPEN EXPRESSION.
B. DEEP DEPRESSION.
C. FIRST IMPRESSION.

2. We most often talk about sublimating _____, such as an individual person's _____.

A. socially acceptable things .. joy
B. socially unacceptable things ... ego
C. socially constructed things .. beauty

Answers to the review questions: 1. A 2. B From the game: That song is "Candy By The Pound."

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.