radiate
Americanverb (used without object)
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radiates,
present (3rd person singular)
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radiated,
past participle, past
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radiating
present participle
-
to extend, spread, or move like rays or radii from a center.
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to emit rays, as of light or heat; irradiate.
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to issue or proceed in rays.
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(of persons) to project or glow with cheerfulness, joy, etc..
She simply radiates with good humor.
verb (used with object)
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radiates,
present (3rd person singular)
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radiated,
past participle, past
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radiating
present participle
-
to emit in rays; disseminate, as from a center.
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(of persons) to project (joy, goodwill, etc.).
adjective
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radiating from a center.
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having rays extending from a central point or part.
a coin showing a radiate head.
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radiating symmetrically.
verb
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Also: eradiate. to emit (heat, light, or some other form of radiation) or (of heat, light, etc) to be emitted as radiation
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(intr) (of lines, beams, etc) to spread out from a centre or be arranged in a radial pattern
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(tr) (of a person) to show (happiness, health, etc) to a great degree
adjective
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having rays; radiating
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(of a capitulum) consisting of ray florets
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(of animals or their parts) showing radial symmetry
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adorned or decorated with rays
a radiate head on a coin
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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radiabilitynoun
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radiablenessnoun
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reradiateverb
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interradiateverb (used without object)
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antiradiatingadjective
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multiradiateadjective
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multiradiatedadjective
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nonradiatingadjective
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radiableadjective
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subradiateadjective
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unradiatedadjective
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radiablyadverb
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radiatelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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radiatesimple
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radiatessimple
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have radiatedperfect
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has radiatedperfect
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am radiatingprogressive
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are radiatingprogressive
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is radiatingprogressive
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have been radiatingperfect progressive
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has been radiatingperfect progressive
Past
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radiatedsimple
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had radiatedperfect
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was radiatingprogressive
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were radiatingprogressive
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had been radiatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of radiate
First recorded in 1610–20, radiate is from the Latin word radiātus (past participle of radiāre to radiate light, shine). See radiant, -ate 1
Explanation
When something radiates, it sends out waves or rays. The sun radiates light and warmth. If your house has a radiator, that might help you remember this word, because the radiator radiates warmth. Radiating is a concept that applies to anything that emits rays or waves. People camping make a fire so it can radiate light and heat. Our bodies radiate some heat, but not nearly as much as something as hot as a stove. If a nuclear reactor is damaged, it could radiate dangerous nuclear energy — or radiation.
Vocabulary lists containing radiate
Bud, Not Buddy
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Achievement First 6th Grade IA 1 Words
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"Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began" by Art Spiegelman
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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:
The meteors appear to radiate from the constellation of Orion, which is where the shower gets its name, but they can appear anywhere across the night sky.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
But Ms. Northeast seems to radiate the same joy as Sybylla’s in being who she is and doing what she does.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Cordido's eyes can't help but radiate with gratitude when he speaks about the volunteer rescuers who pulled him from the ruins of Venezuela's double earthquake, which killed more than 2,600 people.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
As I ambled past groups doing yoga and vacationing families lounging on the grass, pain started to radiate through my ankles and up my shinbones before settling uncomfortably in my hips.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
I lay back and watched the silent beams of light radiate in the colorful dust motes I had stirred up.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
There is, however, one dazzlingly strange interlude of repressed conflict that radiates such retro 1950s-fixated weirdness that it’s as if David Lynch took a sly pass at the “Mad Max” universe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
No surprise, the 25-year-old talks Miami Hurricanes football and radiates a 305-swagger that would make the Cuban-American club-classic rapper Pitbull proud.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
As a “heat dome” radiates across the US east coast, fans are turning up in record heat to cheer on their teams in the middle of the World Cup.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Teenagers everywhere fell under the spell of Rice’s vampires in the mid-‘80s with an ardor that AMC’s “The Vampire Lestat” radiates through the devotion of his superfans.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
When Leonardo is done, the angel radiates life.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
He cranked the energy back up for his 2011 hit No Church in the Wild, which was amplified by firey pyrotechnics that radiated heat through the stadium.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
The resulting device can control the direction in which heat is radiated, switch that behavior on or off, and retain its configuration even after the power has been turned off.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
In 1967, his black evening gown with cape radiated simplicity in form and draping even as it also referenced the attire of Catholic priests.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
Even with my limited knowledge, the mountain radiated a kind of gravity, as though the desert itself were remembering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2026
His skin, unmarked and smooth, radiated golden light, and his black hair flowed from under a helmet crowned with three pairs of horns.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
He’s hardly able to parry the upbraiding meted out by Mr. Giamatti’s Jean, fastidiously dressed and radiating pompous self-satisfaction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
“We hope you’ll continue radiating positivity in your community throughout the year, and thank you for loving this festival as much as we do.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The heat felt like 100 degrees radiating off the pavement.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
While the impact will not be visible from Earth with the naked eye, people with access to a sophisticated telescope may be able to see a flash radiating off the Moon's surface, Bothwell said.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
He was an attacker—big, loud, radiating intensity and confidence.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
