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# crystallise

verb (crystallise, crystallises, crystallised, crystallising; US crystallize)

«crystallise» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (science) When a substance crystallises, it forms crystals, usually as a liquid cools or water evaporates: «Salt crystallises as the water dries». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#m1)
2. When an idea, feeling or plan crystallises, it becomes clear and definite: «Her plan crystallised in her mind». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#m2)
3. (cooking) To coat fruit or flowers with sugar so they become sweet and hard: «crystallised ginger». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#m3)
4. When talk or a conversation crystallises, it begins to take a clear and definite shape. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#m4)

### In the lessons

In science lessons, pupils dissolve salt, sugar or copper sulfate in water and leave it to evaporate so that crystals form; this shows separating a solid from a solution. In cooking, honey sometimes crystallises (gets grainy) in the jar; crystallised fruit decorates cakes. In stories, a vague idea «crystallises» into a plan. Phrases: «crystallise out», «crystallised fruit», «crystallised ginger».

### Examples

- As the water evaporated, the salt crystallised on the saucer. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#x1)
- Our sugar solution crystallised on the string overnight. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#x2)
- Honey can crystallise if you keep it in the cold. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#x3)
- Gran decorated the cake with crystallised violets. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#x4)
- Slowly, my idea for the story crystallised. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#x5)
- The talk helped crystallise what I wanted to be when I grow up. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#x6)
- They had got just so far, and the conversation began to crystallise, as it could but do with the scanty stream which the commonplace world supplied. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/#x7)

### Note

UK, Irish, Australian and NZ spelling: crystallise; US and Canadian: crystallize. Spelled with double l. The noun is «crystallisation» (crystallization). In chemistry, cooling a hot saturated solution slowly gives bigger crystals.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «crystallise» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crystallise/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«crystallise» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/crystallise.html) on Mova free.