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dilatancy

British

/ daɪˈleɪtənsɪ, dɪ- /

noun

a phenomenon caused by the nature of the stacking or fitting together of particles or granules in a heterogeneous system, such as the solidification of certain sols under pressure, and the thixotropy of certain gels

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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dilatancy

Together, the unusual geometry and trapped fluids create conditions for a process called "dilatancy strengthening."

From Science Daily ● May 16, 2026

Expat carries with it the sense of choice, but also a whiff of flightiness and dilatancy, the idea that you’ve rejected the country of your birth for reasons of lifestyle rather than need.

From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2014

In fact, dilatancy seems to explain virtually all the strange effects observed prior to earthquakes.

From Time Magazine Archive

Scientists are less certain about how dilatancy accounts for variations in the local magnetic field but think that the effect is related to changes in the rock's electrical resistance.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the bulge appears much too large to be explained only by this effect, which is known as dilatancy and has already been used to make experimental earthquake predictions.

From Time Magazine Archive

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023