divaricate
[ verb dahy-var-i-keyt, dih-; adjective dahy-var-uh-kit, -keyt, dih- ]
/ verb daɪˈvær ɪˌkeɪt, dɪ-; adjective daɪˈvær ə kɪt, -ˌkeɪt, dɪ- /
verb (used without object), di·var·i·cat·ed, di·var·i·cat·ing.
to spread apart; branch; diverge.
Botany, Zoology. to branch at a wide angle.
adjective
spread apart; widely divergent.
Botany, Zoology. branching at a wide angle.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON THESE WORDS FROM BROWN GIRL DREAMING!
Visualize yourself passing this quiz on words from Jacqueline Woodson’s exquisite verse novel “Brown Girl Dreaming,” and then take the quiz to prove you can do it! (Because you can.)
Question 1 of 10
What does “barren” mean?
Origin of divaricate
1615–25; <Latin dīvāricātus (past participle of dīvāricāre), equivalent to dīdi-2 + vāric- (base of vāricāre to straddle; see prevaricate) + -ātus-ate1
OTHER WORDS FROM divaricate
di·var·i·cate·ly, adverbdi·var·i·cat·ing·ly, adverbdi·var·i·ca·tion, noundi·var·i·ca·tor, nounWords nearby divaricate
diva, divagate, divalent, divalproex sodium, divan, divaricate, divarication, divaricator, dive, dive-bomb, dive bomber
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for divaricate
Branches irregular, divaricate nearly at rightangles, subalternate.
Stems or branches pinnate: pinnae or branches alternate, straight, divaricate.
The book fell upon her knees, and dreamily she watched the perspective open and divaricate.
Parrot & Co.|Harold MacGrath
British Dictionary definitions for divaricate
divaricate
verb (daɪˈværɪˌkeɪt)
(intr) (esp of branches) to diverge at a wide angle
adjective (daɪˈværɪkɪt, -ˌkeɪt)
branching widely; forked
Derived forms of divaricate
divaricately, adverbdivaricatingly, adverbdivarication, nounWord Origin for divaricate
C17: from Latin dīvāricāre to stretch apart, from di- ² + vāricāre to stand astride
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