sublimate

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
sublimate /ˈsʌblɪmeɪt/

▶verb

• 1 (in psychoanalytic theory) divert or modify (an instinctual impulse) into a culturally higher or socially more acceptable activity.

• 2 transform into a purer or idealized form.

• 3 Chemistry another term for sublime.

▶noun also /ˈsʌblɪmət/ Chemistry a solid deposit of a substance which has sublimed.

– derivatives
sublimation noun.

– origin ME: from L. sublimat-, sublimare ‘raise up’.