Emily Dickinson Lexicon

E-VAP'O-RATE, v.i. [L. evaporo; e and vaporo, from vapor, – which see.]

1. To pass off in vapor, as a fluid; to escape and be dissipated, either in visible vapor, or in particles too minute to be visible. Fluids when heated often evaporate in visible steam; but water, on the surface of the earth, generally evaporates in an imperceptible manner.
2. To escape or pass off without effect; to be dissipated; to be wasted. Arguments evaporate in words. The spirit of a writer often evaporates in translating.