Definition: macerate

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Source: WordNet (r) 1.7 

macerate
     v 1: become soft or disintegrate as a result of excessive
          soaking; "the tissue macerated in the water"
     2: soften and cause to disintegrate as a result; "macerate
        peaches"
     3: cause to grow thin or weak; "The treatment emaciated him"
        [syn: waste, emaciate]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) 

Macerate \Mac"er*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Macerated; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Macerating.] [L. maceratus, p. p. of macerare to
   make soft, weaken, enervate; cf. Gr. ? to knead.]
   1. To make lean; to cause to waste away. [Obs. or R.]
      --Harvey.

   2. To subdue the appetites of by poor and scanty diet; to
      mortify. --Baker.

   3. To soften by steeping in a liquid, with or without heat;
      to wear away or separate the parts of by steeping; as, to
      macerate animal or vegetable fiber.