dilute
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
adjective
verb
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to make or become less concentrated, esp by adding water or a thinner
-
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:
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
Other critics of the proposal say they fear it will dilute the significance of marriage.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 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
Honeybees gather pollen from many different flower species, which may dilute contaminants across their food supply.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 7, 2026
When a painter begins to paint, dipping the brush occasionally to dilute the pigment, the water might initially turn blue, or yellow.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
In adapting the premise for TV, series creator Nick Antosca dilutes the movies’ naked menace by pouring reasonable doubt into both Max’s profile and that of the Bowdens, the married lawyers behind his downfall.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
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
South Korea announced new measures to restrict publicly traded large companies from “duplicate listing” of their subsidiaries, halting a practice critics say dilutes shareholder value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
This panoramic sweep lends “The Secret Agent” a novelistic sprawl, although it sometimes dilutes the proceedings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2025
And every month of delay dilutes its benefits in 1964 for consumption, for investment, and for employment.
From State of the Union Address by Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines)
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
Expectations on adjusted diluted earnings per share are now $28.04, down 1.9% from a previously guided $28.59—though this is still ahead of September’s $27.58 forecast.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Researchers plan to use it to study the electronic properties of atomically thin materials, nanostructures, and highly diluted atomic and molecular samples.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
By the time Emmet Sheehan took the mound, the smell had diluted, and the sunshine broke through the haze.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
I had slept a short while, a diluted sleep that had brought no rest and no dreams.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Grossi also said on Friday that an alternative to diluting could be shipping the enriched uranium 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
“Disjointed colors, patterns, and logo-heavy designs are diluting brand equity,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
These judges first found that the Legislature had violated Section 2 of the VRA by diluting Black representation in 2022, after which Alabama went to the Supreme Court and lost in Allen v.
From Slate ● May 26, 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.
