Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To emit small bubbles of gas, as a carbonated or fermenting liquid.
  • intransitive verb To escape from a liquid as bubbles; bubble up.
  • intransitive verb To show high spirits or animation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To be in a state of natural ebullition, like liquor when gently boiling; bubble and hiss, as fermenting liquors or any fluid when some part escapes in a gaseous form; work, as new wine.
  • Figuratively, to show signs of excitement; exhibit feelings which cannot be suppressed: as, to effervesce with joy.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To be in a state of natural ebullition; to bubble and hiss, as fermenting liquors, or any fluid, when some part escapes in a gaseous form.
  • intransitive verb To exhibit, in lively natural expression, feelings that can not be repressed or concealed.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb intransitive, of a liquid to emit small bubbles of dissolved gas; to froth or fizz
  • verb intransitive, of a gas to escape from solution in a liquid in the form of bubbles
  • verb intransitive, of a person to show high spirits

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb become bubbly or frothy or foaming

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin effervēscere : ex-, up, out; see ex– + fervēscere, to start boiling, inchoative of fervēre, to boil; see bhreu- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • In this case, the gas can effervesce out of the oil, aerosolizing it into tiny droplets, much the way a fine mist emerges from the top of an aerosol can.

    The Great Unknowns in Gulf Oil Spill 2010

  • In this case, the gas can effervesce out of the oil, aerosolizing it into tiny droplets, much the way a fine mist emerges from the top of an aerosol can.

    The Great Unknowns in Gulf Oil Spill 2010

  • And yet, as every TV executive knows to his everlasting regret, it's not so simple as just sending out a junior casting suit for a little browsing and sluicing through a cattle call, to round up a herd of people who, when confronted by a lens, began to effervesce to an extraordinary extent.

    How to find the next reality-TV superstar 2010

  • The tablet will cause the water to bubble or effervesce.

    Nurturing Spirituality in Children Ph.D. Peggy Joy Jenkins 2008

  • You need a large container for this, as the solution will effervesce and you might otherwise lose some of the liquid.

    The Creation of Color in Eighteenth-Century Europe 2006

  • A good varnish is one that will not separate, Mauclerc stated, because the ingredients have formed an indivisible union: his theory of varnishmaking is also a theory of chemical combination. 23 Complete joining of the materials is only certain when there has been effervesce.

    The Creation of Color in Eighteenth-Century Europe 2006

  • Carbonates also effervesce when exposed to warm hydrochloric acid.

    Composition of rocks 2007

  • Kindness was ready in her mind; it but lacked the touch of an occasion to effervesce and crystallise.

    Lay Morals 2005

  • The mixture, which was at first of a reddish hue, began, in proportion as the crystals melted, to brighten in colour, to effervesce audibly, and to throw off small fumes of vapour.

    The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 2004

  • Brew is related to bread, broil, braise, and ferment; they all come from an Indo-European root meaning “to boil, to bubble, to effervesce.”

    On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

Comments

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  • so much more interesting than the adjectival form :P

    September 19, 2007

  • I agree!

    September 19, 2007