Hydrolyzed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. A chemical reaction involves breaking down a compound by adding water to it, resulting in simpler molecules or ions
2. This process entails the breakdown of larger molecules into smaller components through the action of water
3. Having undergone a chemical breakdown caused by water splitting the molecular bonds

Etymology: "Hydrolyzed" is the past tense and past participle of "hydrolyze", a verb built from two Greek elements: "hydro-", from "hydor" meaning water, and "-lyze", from "lysis" meaning loosening or breaking apart. Together they describe a chemical reaction in which water splits a compound into smaller parts, a sense the word carries in chemistry and nutrition. The "-lyze" element is what gives the verb its core meaning, since "lysis" in Greek referred to the act of releasing or dissolving something, and it appears in other scientific terms such as "electrolysis" and "analysis."

Synonyms: decomposed, dissolved, separated, split, broken down

Antonyms: combined, joined, unified, consolidated, synthesized