dilute
Americanverb (used with object)
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dilutes,
present (3rd person singular)
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diluted,
past participle, past
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diluting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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dilutes,
present (3rd person singular)
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diluted,
past participle, past
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diluting
present participle
adjective
verb
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to make or become less concentrated, esp by adding water or a thinner
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to make or become weaker in force, effect, etc
he diluted his story
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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diluteenoun
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diluternoun
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dilutornoun
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overdiluteverb
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antidilutiveadjective
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dilutiveadjective
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undiluteadjective
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undilutedadjective
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undilutingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dilutesimple
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dilutessimple
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have dilutedperfect
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has dilutedperfect
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am dilutingprogressive
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are dilutingprogressive
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is dilutingprogressive
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have been dilutingperfect progressive
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has been dilutingperfect progressive
Past
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dilutedsimple
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had dilutedperfect
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was dilutingprogressive
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were dilutingprogressive
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had been dilutingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dilute
1545–55; < Latin dīlūtus washed away, dissolved (past participle of dīluere ), equivalent to dī- di- 2 + -lūtus, combining form of lautus ( lav ( ere ) to wash + -tus past participle suffix)
Explanation
When you dilute something, you make it thinner, weaker, or more watered down. If you put lots of ice cubes in your soda, the ice will melt and dilute the drink. Think about diluting as lessening the quality but increasing the quantity. Unless you're diluting a really strong drink to make it taste better or diluting heavy paint to get a lighter shade — then the quality actually improves. Quipped President John F. Kennedy, “Public speaking is the art of diluting a two-minute idea with a two-hour vocabulary.”
Vocabulary lists containing dilute
Word Generation Science - Introductory Chemistry Concepts
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Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience" (1950)
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The Chocolate War
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But don’t let the relatable career-girl pluck of the movie dilute the fact that this song is pissed off about capitalism, even as its hooks make the grind of working life more bearable.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
"We believe that these changes will... help dilute the effect of a mobilised block vote, without compromising fairness or trust," according to the letter, which was first reported by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
When the wine was of poor quality or the weather hot, soldiers would dilute -- or "spritzen" or spray in German -- their drink with sparkling water.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Investors were concerned that the package, which gave the co-founders an aggregate stake of 6% in the company, would dilute their ownership.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
"One part in twenty, or thereabouts. You never know until you try, but the risk is"—his face dropped—"if you dilute it too much, it's basically just scented water."
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
And as a new fund investor you will be allocated a proportionate share of the existing SpaceX holdings, which merely dilutes existing fund investors’ stakes in SpaceX.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
George Washington’s greatness is so firmly established that it dilutes our appreciation of the man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
But even that movie dilutes Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel to a fraction of its story, reducing all of the text’s thematic resonance to a footnote along with it.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
This panoramic sweep lends “The Secret Agent” a novelistic sprawl, although it sometimes dilutes the proceedings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
Their Drink should be such as allays Thirst, and abates the Fever; such as dilutes, relaxes, and promotes the Evacuations by Stool, Urine and Perspiration.
From Advice to the people in general, with regard to their health by S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David) Tissot
Others argued the feature had already been diluted when Bumble introduced "Opening Moves" - a feature allowing women to set a pre-written prompt for men to respond to.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
The company guided for third-quarter revenue of between $1.135 billion and $1.145 billion and adjusted earnings per share of between 63 cents and 65 cents, assuming approximately 378 million weighted average diluted shares outstanding.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
In the human digestive system, sweeteners may be absorbed, chemically altered, diluted, or broken down before reaching particular microbes.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
On the flip side, existing investors such as Min will see their shares diluted as new shares are issued.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Very well then, the juice wrenched from the disinfected skin, and then the pulpy liquid had to be diluted with water if I hoped to make the precious oranges last at all.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Experts say the test for Airbnb going forward will be driving growth in its travel offerings without diluting the “travel like a local” identity that brought the company to prominence.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
Grossi said an alternative to diluting the enriched uranium could be to ship it out of Iran.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
At the same time, the rapid rise of third-party delivery apps has flooded the market with alternative options, diluting Pizza Hut's historic dominance.
From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026
Alphabet’s shift triggered speculation that other tech giants would follow suit, diluting their existing shareholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
We could cure Daoud right now, or we could try to save more people—like my parents—by conserving every drop and diluting it....But in doing so, we might end up with nothing.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
