Vacuolise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To cause small fluid-filled cavities called vacuoles to develop within the cytoplasm of a cell or tissue
2. To make tiny empty sacs or bubbles appear inside living cells, often as a sign of damage or disease
3. Developing vacuoles, the membrane-bound storage spaces, inside a cell so that it becomes porous or frothy in appearance

Etymology: "Vacuolise" is the British spelling of "vacuolize," and it is built from two straightforward parts. The first is "vacuole," a small cavity or sac within a cell, which comes from the Latin "vacuus," meaning empty, with the diminutive ending "-ole" (from Latin "-olum") giving the sense of a little empty space. The second is the suffix "-ise" or "-ize," which turns a noun into a verb meaning to make, or to become, something. Put together, "vacuolise" means to form vacuoles, or to fill a cell with them, usually as a sign of change or damage within the cell.

Synonyms: vacuolize