saponification
noun
sa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion
sə-ˌpä-nə-fə-ˈkā-shən 
: the act, process, or result of making soap : conversion into soap
Examples of saponification in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One display case features the livers of Chang and Eng Bunker, conjoined twins who were widely exhibited as curiosities during the nineteenth century; in another is the corpse of a woman whose fat transformed after death in an unusual form of natural preservation called saponification.
—
Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 23 June 2025
In cold enough water, organic matter—including, unfortunately, dead human bodies—may also undergo a saponification process.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 13 Feb. 2023
The mixture prompts a chemical reaction called saponification.
—Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 Oct. 2021
During the saponification process, the body’s fatty acids turn into a waxy, soap-like compound that covers the corpse and prevents putrefaction.
—Oscar Urbiola, National Geographic, 29 Oct. 2019
When combined, the reaction is called 'saponification'.
—Meghan Caudill, Good Housekeeping, 8 Jan. 2018
This allows the soap to finish saponification and for all the excess water to evaporate.
—Meghan Caudill, Good Housekeeping, 8 Jan. 2018
In a process called saponification, an alkali is used to cause changes in animal or vegetable fats, leaving behind soap and glycerol.
—C. Claiborne Ray, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2018
In 2011, Joel Ducoste of North Carolina State University and his team reported that the same process that can turn lard into soap, called saponification, happens in sewer grease if calcium’s around.
—Erika Engelhaupt, National Geographic, 16 Aug. 2017
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Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 23 June 2025
In cold enough water, organic matter—including, unfortunately, dead human bodies—may also undergo a saponification process.
—Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 13 Feb. 2023
The mixture prompts a chemical reaction called saponification.
—Erik S. Hanley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 20 Oct. 2021
During the saponification process, the body’s fatty acids turn into a waxy, soap-like compound that covers the corpse and prevents putrefaction.
—Oscar Urbiola, National Geographic, 29 Oct. 2019
When combined, the reaction is called 'saponification'.
—Meghan Caudill, Good Housekeeping, 8 Jan. 2018
This allows the soap to finish saponification and for all the excess water to evaporate.
—Meghan Caudill, Good Housekeeping, 8 Jan. 2018
In a process called saponification, an alkali is used to cause changes in animal or vegetable fats, leaving behind soap and glycerol.
—C. Claiborne Ray, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2018
In 2011, Joel Ducoste of North Carolina State University and his team reported that the same process that can turn lard into soap, called saponification, happens in sewer grease if calcium’s around.
—Erika Engelhaupt, National Geographic, 16 Aug. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Saponification.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saponification. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
saponification
noun
sa·pon·i·fi·ca·tion
sə-ˌpän-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən
1
: the hydrolysis of a fat by an alkali with the formation of a soap and glycerol
2
: the hydrolysis especially by an alkali of an ester into the corresponding alcohol and acid
broadly
: hydrolysis
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