n. The act of exhausting, or of drawing out or draining off; the act of emptying completely of the contents.n. The state of being exhausted or emptied, or of being deprived of strength or energy.n. Specifically In geometry, a method formerly used for demonstrating the properties of curvilinear areas.n. In logic, a method of proof in which all the arguments tending to an opposite conclusion are brought forward, discussed, and proved untenable or absurd, thus leaving the original proposition established by the exclusion of every alternative.n. In physics, the act of removing the air from a receiver, as by an air-pump, or the extent to which the process has been carried.n. In chem., the process of completely extracting from a substance whatever is removable by a given solvent, or the state of being thus completely deprived of certain soluble matters.