Synonyms

distill

American

[dih-stil] / dɪˈstɪl /

especially British, distil

verb (used with object)

to subject to a process of vaporization and subsequent condensation, as for purification or concentration.
to extract the volatile components of by distillation; transform by distillation.
to concentrate, purify, or obtain by or as by distillation.

to distill whiskey from mash.
to remove by distillation (usually followed by off orout ).

to distill out impurities.
to extract the essential elements of; refine; abstract.

She managed to distill her ideas into one succinct article.
to let fall in drops; give forth in or as in drops.

The cool of the night distills the dew.

verb (used without object)

to undergo or perform distillation.
to become vaporized and then condensed in distillation.
to drop, pass, or condense as a distillate.
to fall in drops; trickle; exude.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of distill

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English distillen (from Anglo-French distiller ), from Latin distillāre, variant of dēstillāre, equivalent to dē- de- + stillāre to drip

Explanation

When you distill something, you are boiling it down to its essence — its most important part. Whether it's alcohol or ideas, the distilled part is the most powerful. The original meaning of distill comes from the process of making alcohol, known as distilling, in which all the impurities of a substance are vaporized and its pure, high-alcohol condensation collected. Distill eventually came to mean any process in which the essence of something is revealed. If you take notes at a lecture and then turn them into an essay for your professor, you're distilling your notes into something more pure and exact. At least, that's what you hope you're doing.

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Vocabulary lists containing distill

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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.

Quintrell largely stayed true to the novel, although she had to distill a lot of the story down to fit the vignette-like episodic format.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Millions of people putting their savings at risk distill available information pretty well.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Patience; communication, organizational and presentation skills; the ability to distill complex ideas; and project-management skills are all qualities and skills that can be valuable in many other professions.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 9, 2026

For the predictions to be accurate, or efficient, the platforms rely on a pool of traders to distill the wisdom of the crowd.

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

The expertise at distillation that medieval Islamic alchemists developed to produce alcohols and perfumes also let them distill petroleum into fractions, some of which proved to be even more powerful incendiaries.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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