denaturise

English

Verb

denaturise (third-person singular simple present denaturises, present participle denaturising, simple past and past participle denaturised)

1. Alternative form of denature
   1. Take away a natural characteristic
      • 1915, Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society - Volume 15:

        Realists hold that the latter process does not disfigure or denaturise reality, since both analysis and synthesis are regulated by the objective evidence of reality itself.

      • 1976, Caribbean Quarterly - Volumes 22-23, page 26:

        This inherent capacity for obscuring tensions while purporting to aid in their resolition is traceable to the existing paraphernalia of legal definitions and procedure which while they may be of use, are basically designed to denaturise social and other issues by imposing on them a one-dimensional aspect.

      • 2010, Kostas Vlassopoulos, Politics: Antiquity and Its Legacy, →ISBN:

        Rousseau was not content with pointing out the inherent contradictions of the human condition and the necessity of an artificial political intervention in order to denaturise men and to make them content and happy.

   2. Adulterate (alcohol) to make unsuitable for human consumption
      • 1914, Alexander Graham Clark, Text Book on Motor Car Engineering - Volume 1, page 68:

        What substances are employed to denaturise alcohol, and what is their effect upon the burning properties of the mixture?

      • 1919, Palestine - Volume 6, page 174:

        Owing to absence of a duty on spirits, there would be no need to denaturise it, which would make the alcohol cheaper still.

      • 2017, H. R. Procter, The Principles of Leather Manufacture, →ISBN:

        On the Continent, where common salt is heavily taxed, alum, carbolic acid, naphthalene and other materials are frequently added to it to “denaturise,” or render it incapable of being used as food, and these additions are often the cause of trouble to the tanner.

   3. Alter the chemical structure
      • 1948, John Ronald Currie, Alexander Gow Mearns, Manual of public health: hygiene, page 245:

        Pasteurisation does not denaturise milk to the extent that boiling does.

      • 2008, Gian F. Baronzio, E. Dieter Hager, Hyperthermia In Cancer Treatment: A Primer, →ISBN, page 230:

        It appears to be a problem because polyvalent proteinase inhibitors, commonly used in clinical practice, have a protein nature and denaturise at high temperature.

      • 2011, Graham Dodgshun, Michel Peters, David O'Dea, Cookery for the Hospitality Industry, →ISBN, page 685:

        Curing is a process of adding salt to flesh foods such as pork, beef or fish, to denaturise the meat proteins.

      • 2011, Jim Smith, Edward Charter, Functional Food Product Development, →ISBN:

        Thermal processing is used to denaturise oxidative enzymes and to inactivate microorganisms.

   4. Combine fissionable material with nonfissionable material.
      • 2015, International Atomic Energy Agency, Performance Analysis Review of Thorium TRISO Coated Particles during Manufacture, Irradiation and Accident Condition Heating Tests, →ISBN:

        Unlike the plutonium case one more barrier for potential proliferation of ²³³U can be created by denaturising it by mixing it with the non-fissile isotope ²³⁸U (in practice with depleted uranium) to create 'reactor grade' but not a 'weapon grade' ²³³U/²³⁸U mixture not adherent to chemical separation.

Usage notes

In modern usage, denature is generally used in preference to denaturise except when used to mean taking away a natural characteristic.

Anagrams

• edutainers, unreadiest, unsteadier