curdle
UK /ˈkɜː.dəl/ · US /ˈkɝ.dəl/ verb
Forms curdles curdling curdled
- verb (ambitransitive) To form curds so that it no longer flows smoothly; to cause to form such curds. (usually said of milk) “Too much lemon will curdle the milk in your tea.”
- verb (ambitransitive) To clot or coagulate; to cause to congeal, such as through cold. (metaphorically of blood)
- verb (transitive) To cause a liquid to spoil and form clumps so that it no longer flows smoothly.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
Metathesis of earlier dialectal cruddle, crudle, equivalent to curd + -le (frequentative suffix).
Webster’s 1913
- verb To change into curd; to coagulate; as, rennet causes milk to curdle. Thomson.
- verb To thicken; to congeal.
- verb To change into curd; to cause to coagulate. "To curdle whites of eggs" Boyle.
- verb To congeal or thicken.
Etymology [From Curd.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “curdle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details