dulcorate means to sweeten (literal or figurative). It carries an Arena rating of 1555, earned across 7 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, dulcorate ranks #1,652 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,790 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,810 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #4,234 of 17,135 for Most Malleable Words.
Why “dulcorate” is a great word
To make sweet, either in a literal, gustatory sense or a figurative, dispositional one. From Latin dulcoratus, perfect passive participle of dulcorare ("to sweeten"), from dulcor ("sweetness"), from dulcis ("sweet"), first attested in English in the early 15th century. Unlike "edulcorate" (which implies a technical purifying) or "sugarcoat" (which suggests a veneer of deceit), to dulcorate is a broader, gentler craft. It is the measured spoon of honey swirled into bitter tea, the softening of a voice when delivering difficult news, and the amber light of late afternoon that smooths the harsh edges of a landscape—a quiet testament to the human urge to make the world, or our experience of it, more palatable.
Etymology
First attested in the beginning of the 15th century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English dulcoraten, from dulcorat(e) (“sweetened”, used as the past participle of dulcoraten) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin dulcōrātus, perfect passive participle of dulcōrō (“to sweeten”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
verb
- To sweeten (literal or figurative).e.g.“The ancients for the dulcorating of fruit, do commend swines dung above all other dung” — 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted
adj
- Filled with sweetness, sweet.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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