dilatant

[dih-leyt-nt, dahy-]

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adjective

dilating; expanding.

Physical Chemistry. exhibiting an increase in volume on being changed in shape, owing to a wider spacing between particles.

Petrology. (of rock) exhibiting an increase in volume owing to rearrangement and recrystallization of constituent grains.

Origin of dilatant

1835–45; < Latin dīlātant- (stem of dīlātāns), present participle of dīlātāre to dilate; see -ant

Related formsdi·lat·an·cy, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dilatant

extensive, inclusive, far-reaching, wide-ranging, ample, big, elastic, great, large, thorough, voluminous, wide, widespread, expansile, all-embracing, unrepressed, unsuppressed

British Dictionary definitions for dilatant

dilatant

adjective

tending to dilate; dilating

physics of, concerned with, or exhibiting dilatancy

noun

something, such as a catheter, that causes dilation

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