vegetate

[vej-i-teyt] /ˈvɛdʒ ɪˌteɪt/
verb (used without object), vegetated, vegetating.
1.
to grow in, or as in, the manner of a plant.
2.
to be passive or unthinking; to do nothing:
to lie on the beach and vegetate.
3.
Pathology. to grow, or increase by growth, as an excrescence.
Origin
1595-1605; < Latin vegetātus (past participle of vegetāre to quicken, enliven), equivalent to veget(us) lively (orig. past participle of vegēre to give vigor) + -ātus -ate1
Examples from the web for vegetate
  • The only way to return our planet to stable weather that suites us is to re-vegetate the planet.
  • In effect, they were forced to vegetate or to do something different.
  • In such a place, it was thought, the mind would vegetate--witness the regressive races that inhabited the place in modern times.
  • Deep cuts can be visually dominating, presenting a scarred appearance often difficult to re-vegetate.
  • After a few years, remove the plastic and re-vegetate the area.
  • Natural regeneration is allowable to re-vegetate both practices when feasible.
  • If this is not possible, immediately re-vegetate slopes in the next growing season.
  • Completely close, rehabilitate, and re-vegetate problem areas.
  • Reshape and re-vegetate disturbed areas where reasonable and practicable.
  • Use of greenhouse propagated wetland plants versus live transplants to vegetate constructed or created wetlands.
British Dictionary definitions for vegetate

vegetate

/ˈvɛdʒɪˌteɪt/
verb (intransitive)
1.
to grow like a plant; sprout
2.
to lead a life characterized by monotony, passivity, or mental inactivity
3.
(pathol) (of a wart, polyp, etc) to develop fleshy outgrowths
Word Origin
C17: from Late Latin vegetāre to invigorate
Word Origin and History for vegetate
v.

c.1600, "to grow as plants do," perhaps a back-formation from vegetation, or from Latin vegetatus, past participle of vegetare "to enliven, to animate" (see vegetable (adj.)). Sense of "to lead a dull, empty, or stagnant life" is from 1740. Related: Vegetated; vegetating.