Germinate

/ˈd͡ʒɜː(ɹ)mɪneɪt/ · verb

Meaning

(intransitive, botany, horticulture) Of a seed, to begin to grow, to sprout roots and leaves..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive, botany, horticulture) Of a seed, to begin to grow, to sprout roots and leaves.
2. (transitive) To cause to grow; to produce.

Example Sentences

the Chalcites, which hath a Spirit that will put forth and germinate

It would suffice to keep up the full number of a tree, which lived on an average for a thousand years, if a single seed were produced once in a thousand years, supposing that this seed were never destroyed, and could be ensured to germinate in a fitting place. So that in all cases, the average number of any animal or plant depends only indirectly on the number of its eggs or seeds.

Orchids rely on fungi to reproduce. Their tiny seeds don't have any on-board nutrients (like beans and apples) and will not germinate until they are infected by a symbiotic fungus which supplies them with food. Known as a protocorm, this tiny orchid-fungus ball grows, turns green and eventually starts to photosynthesise.

[…] The flesh [of the mistletoe berry] is sticky, and forms strings and ribbons between my thumb and forefinger. For the mistletoe, this viscous goop – and by the way, viscous comes to English from viscum – is crucial. The stickiness means that, after eating the berries, birds often regurgitate the seeds and then wipe their bills on twigs – leading to the seeds' getting glued to the tree, where they can germinate and begin the cycle anew.

These were business hours, and a feeling of loneliness crept over him, perhaps germinated by his sight of the illustrated papers, and accentuated by an attempted perusal of them.

Synonyms for germinate

Antonyms for germinate

Related Words

Word Forms

• germinates
• germinating
• germinated

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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