radiate
Americanverb (used without object)
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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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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
- antiradiating adjective
- interradiate verb (used without object)
- multiradiate adjective
- multiradiated adjective
- nonradiating adjective
- radiability noun
- radiable adjective
- radiableness noun
- radiably adverb
- radiately adverb
- reradiate verb
- subradiate adjective
- unradiated adjective
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
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.
“It’s hard to put it into words, but John Ford’s works all kind of radiate with the warmth that must have been a part of the set,” Kurosawa says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026
"Confirming a non-universal X-ray-to-ultraviolet relation with cosmic time is quite surprising and challenges our understanding of how supermassive black holes grow and radiate," said Dr. Antonis Georgakakis, one of the study's authors.
From Science Daily • Dec. 27, 2025
Meteors will appear to radiate from the constellation Ursa Minor, hence its name with a peak rate of just 10 meteors per hour.
From BBC • Dec. 6, 2025
“Explosions generally radiate energy and effects in a 360-degree arc, but this scene appears to be focused into the building,” Sweetow said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2025
The eyes of the most bullheaded boys radiate a shining determination: every ounce of their attention has been trained to ferret out weakness.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
