dilate

[dahy-leyt, di-, dahy-leyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dilate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), di·lat·ed, di·lat·ing.

to make wider or larger; cause to expand.

Archaic. to describe or develop at length.

verb (used without object), di·lat·ed, di·lat·ing.

to spread out; expand.

to speak or write at length; expatiate (often followed by on or upon).

Origin of dilate

1350–1400; Middle English dilaten < Middle French dilater, Latin dīlātāre to spread out, equivalent to dī- di-² + lāt(us) broad + -āre infinitive suffix

Related formsdi·lat·a·bil·i·ty, noundi·lat·a·ble, adjectivenon·di·lat·a·bil·i·ty, nounnon·di·lat·a·ble, adjectiveo·ver·di·late, verb, o·ver·di·lat·ed, o·ver·di·lat·ing.re·di·late, verb, re·di·lat·ed, re·di·lat·ing.self-di·lat·ed, adjectivesub·di·lat·ed, adjectiveun·di·lat·a·ble, adjectiveun·di·lat·ed, adjectiveun·di·lat·ing, adjective

Can be confuseddilate dilute

Synonyms for dilate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dilate ON THESAURUS.COM

1. See expand.

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

Related Words for dilate

expound, distend, prolong, develop, extend, augment, expatiate, swell, enlarge, lengthen, increase, protract, inflate, broaden, expand, amplify

Examples from the Web for dilate

Historical Examples of dilate

It would be needless to dilate upon the value of such a work.
Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII No. 1 January 1848
Various
She was pale and fragile, yet she seemed to expand and to dilate with force and energy.
The Doctor of Pimlico
William Le Queux
In that September morning his soul seemed to dilate with every breath he drew.
The Child of Pleasure
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Little need to dilate on the situation as it appeared to Mrs Iver!
Tristram of Blent
Anthony Hope
Yet how will it dilate on the Odyssean smell of hemp and tar!
Journeys to Bagdad
Charles S. Brooks

British Dictionary definitions for dilate

dilate

verb

to expand or cause to expand; make or become wider or largerthe pupil of the eye dilates in the dark

(intr; often foll by on or upon) to speak or write at length; expand or enlarge

Derived Formsdilatable, adjectivedilatability or dilatableness, noundilation or dilatation (ˌdaɪləˈteɪʃən, ˌdɪ-), noundilatational, adjectivedilative (daɪˈleɪtɪv, dɪ-), adjective

Word Origin for dilate

C14: from Latin dīlātāre to spread out, amplify, from dis- apart + lātus wide

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

Word Origin and History for dilate

late 14c., from Old French dilater, from Late Latin dilatare "make wider, enlarge," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + latus "wide" (see latitude). Related: Dilated; dilating.

dilate in Medicine

dilate

[dī-lāt′, dī′lāt′]

v.

To make or become wider or larger.