ventilate

American  

[ven-tl-ayt] / ˈvɛn tlˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• ventilates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ventilated,
  past participle,  past
• ventilating
  present participle

1. to provide (a room, mine, etc.) with fresh air in place of air that has been used or contaminated.

2. Medicine/Medical.

   1. to oxygenate (blood) by exposure to air in the lungs or gills.

   2. to assist the breathing of (a person), as with a respirator.

3. (of air or wind) to circulate through or blow on, so as to cool or freshen the air of.

   Cool breezes ventilated the house.

4. to expose to the action of air or wind.

   to ventilate floor timbers.

5. to submit (a question, problem, etc.) to open, full examination and discussion.

   Synonyms:

   report, circulate, publicize, broadcast

6. to give utterance or expression to (an opinion, complaint, etc.).

7. to furnish with a vent or opening, as for the escape of air or gas.

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verb (used without object)

• ventilates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ventilated,
  past participle,  past
• ventilating
  present participle

1. to give utterance or expression to one's emotions, opinions, complaints, etc.

ventilate British  

/ ˈvɛntɪˌleɪt /

verb

1. to drive foul air out of (an enclosed area)

2. to provide with a means of airing

3. to expose (a question, grievance, etc) to public examination or discussion

4. physiol to oxygenate (the blood) in the capillaries of the lungs

5. to winnow (grain)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overventilate
  verb (used with object)
• reventilate
  verb (used with object)
• underventilate
  verb (used with object)
• self-ventilated
  adjective
• underventilated
  adjective
• unventilated
  adjective
• ventilable
  adjective
• well-ventilated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• ventilating
  present
• ventilated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• ventilate
  simple
• ventilates
  simple
• have ventilated
  perfect
• has ventilated
  perfect
• am ventilating
  progressive
• are ventilating
  progressive
• is ventilating
  progressive
• have been ventilating
  perfect progressive
• has been ventilating
  perfect progressive

Past

• ventilated
  simple
• had ventilated
  perfect
• was ventilating
  progressive
• were ventilating
  progressive
• had been ventilating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will ventilate
  simple
• will have ventilated
  perfect
• will be ventilating
  progressive
• will have been ventilating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of ventilate

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English ventilatten “to blow (something) away,” from Latin ventilātus (past participle of ventilāre “to fan”), equivalent to vent(us) “wind” + -il- verb suffix (variant of -ul-, originally after derivatives of nouns ending in -ulus ) + -ātus suffix forming adjectives; see origin at -ule, -ate ¹; cf. speculate, wind ¹

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Explanation

To ventilate is to let something flow freely, whether it's air or ideas. It's especially important to ventilate your art studio if you're using spray paint. When a doctor uses the word ventilate, she's usually talking specifically about air moving through a patient's lungs: "We need to artificially ventilate him until his airway is clear." Otherwise, when we ventilate something, we're almost always trying to get more clean or cool air flowing in and moving around: "You need to ventilate this room better before you set up your screen printing business here." The root of ventilate means "blowing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ventilate ventilates ventilated ventilating

"They are asking estate agents very practical questions about temperatures during the last heatwave, whether it is possible to ventilate the home at night, and whether people sleep well in the bedrooms," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

“It’s self-reinforcing: you ventilate at night, then shield from the sun by day, and it works well,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

The system could eventually help ventilate greenhouses and other buildings without relying on fuel.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026

Dry clothes outdoors if you can, rather than using a tumble dryer, or hang clothes indoors but ventilate well or use a dehumidifier to avoid damp.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025

He began by advising her to moderate the rigor of her mourning, to ventilate the house, to forgive the world for the death of José Arcadio.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

As we followed a trail through waist-high grass, the sun was hot and a ridge blocked the breeze, the steady trade wind that reliably ventilates the Caribbean.

From New York Times ● Oct. 8, 2015

The mastoid portion of the temporal bone, which can be felt as a bump in the skull behind the pinna, also contains air, which ventilates through the middle ear.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Like a healer, he helps us to come to terms with the miseries he ventilates on our behalf.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 17, 2010

And when their various pathologies grow suffocating, the director of photography, Michael Hardwick, ventilates the movie with pure Alaskan light and scrubbed, cerulean skies.

From New York Times ● Mar. 26, 2010

Speech ventilates our intellectual fire; Speech burnishes our mental magazine; Brightens, for ornament; and whets, for use.

From Young's Night Thoughts With Life, Critical Dissertation and Explanatory Notes by Edward Young

"I remember nothing until day four when I was brought round but a few hours later, I was ventilated again because both my lungs collapsed," she said.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Keep them ventilated during the day and, where possible, close internal doors between the conservatory and the rest of the house.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026

Durga Devi finds no relief after a day working in New Delhi's sweltering summer, because her poorly ventilated home radiates trapped heat, leaving her bedroom as hot as 45 degrees at night.

From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026

The Calligraphy is a bower of abundance, where visitors can recline in plushly padded, heated and ventilated captain’s chairs, dressed in high-grade Nappa leather: the Relaxation Mode seating package.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026

About midway down it, behind a barbed-wire fence, was one of the big fans that ventilated the mine.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Homeowners say their builders have made mistakes as they attempt to put up homes as quickly and cheaply as possible, installing improperly sized HVACs, putting in windows incorrectly, or poorly ventilating attics.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

These are necessary for ventilating certain rooms, like your kitchen and bathroom.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2023

Crews were ventilating the area to remove the irritant around 2:30 p.m.

From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2023

Fortunately, we can reduce that risk by ventilating buildings and filtering the air we breathe.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 20, 2022

Then Dad went off into his favorite subject: ventilating air through the mine.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

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