delibate means to taste; to take a sip of. It carries an Arena rating of 1701, earned across 61 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, delibate ranks #198 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #1,720 of 17,151 for The Improbable, #2,825 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #2,861 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words.
Why “delibate” is a great word
DELIBATE — [Verb] To taste or sip a small amount of something; figuratively, to dabble in or sample something superficially. First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin dēlibātus, perfect passive participle of dēlibō ("to take a little from, to taste"), from dē- ("from, away") + libō ("to taste, to sip; to pour as a libation"). Unlike "savor," which implies deep, prolonged appreciation, or "immerse," which denotes total involvement, to delibate is to approach with a tentative, almost ceremonial caution. It is the diplomat accepting a thimble of unfamiliar wine, the fingertip testing the temperature of a bath, the mind grazing the first page of a formidable philosophy—a libation poured not in devotion, but in curiosity.
Etymology
First attested in 1623; Borrowed from Latin dēlibātus, perfect passive participle of dēlibō (“to take away from, to taste from”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dē- + libō (“to taste; to consecrate a liquid”).
verb
- To taste; to take a sip of.e.g.“1641: Shackerley Marmion, The Antiquary, Act III: [Duke:] But when he has travell’d and delibated, the French and the Spanish can lye a bed, and expound Astrea, and digest him into complements …”
- To dabble in.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.