Adjacent Words

Dilate definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DILATE, v.t. [L. See Delay.]
1. To expand; to distend; to enlarge or extend in all directions; opposed to contract. The air dilates the lungs; air is dilated by rarefaction.
2. To enlarge; to relate at large; to tell copiously or diffusely; as, to dilate upon the policy of a measure. In this sense, it is generally used intransitively. Spenser and Shakespeare have used it in a transitive sense; as, to dilate a theme.
DILATE, a. Expanded; expansive.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: become wider; "His pupils were dilated" [syn: dilate, distend]
2: add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation" [syn: elaborate, lucubrate, expatiate, exposit, enlarge, flesh out, expand, expound, dilate] [ant: abbreviate, abridge, contract, cut, foreshorten, reduce, shorten]

Merriam Webster's

verb (dilated; dilating) Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French dilater, from Latin dilatare, literally, to spread wide, from dis- + latus wide — more at latitude Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. archaic to describe or set forth at length or in detail 2. to enlarge or expand in bulk or extent ; distend, widen intransitive verb 1. to comment at length ; discourse — usually used with on or upon 2. to become wide ; swell <the pupil of the eye dilates and contracts> Synonyms: see expand • dilatability noun • dilatable adjective • dilator noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. & intr. make or become wider or larger (esp. of an opening in the body) (dilated pupils). 2 intr. (often foll. by on, upon) speak or write at length. Derivatives: dilatable adj. dilation n. Etymology: ME f. OF dilater f. L dilatare spread out (as DI-(2), latus wide)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dilate Di*late", v. i. 1. To grow wide; to expand; to swell or extend in all directions. His heart dilates and glories in his strength. --Addison. 2. To speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration; to enlarge; -- with on or upon. But still on their ancient joys dilate. --Crabbe.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dilate Di*late" (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dilated; p. pr. & vb. n. Dilating.] [L. dilatare; either fr. di- = dis- + latus wide, not the same word as latus, used as p. p. of ferre to bear (see Latitude); or fr. dilatus, used as p. p. of differre to separate (see Delay, Tolerate, Differ, and cf. Dilatory): cf. F. dilater.] 1. To expand; to distend; to enlarge or extend in all directions; to swell; -- opposed to contract; as, the air dilates the lungs; air is dilated by increase of heat. 2. To enlarge upon; to relate at large; to tell copiously or diffusely. [R.] Do me the favor to dilate at full What hath befallen of them and thee till now. --Shak. Syn: To expand; swell; distend; enlarge; spread out; amplify; expatiate.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Dilate Di*late", a. Extensive; expanded. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(dilates, dilating, dilated) When things such as blood vessels or the pupils of your eyes dilate or when something dilates them, they become wider or bigger. At night, the pupils dilate to allow in more light... Exercise dilates blood vessels on the surface of the brain. = enlarge VERB: V, V n • dilated His eyes seemed slightly dilated. ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Expand, extend, enlarge, widen, distend, swell. II. v. n. 1. Expand, widen, be distended. 2. Expatiate, descant, enlarge, dwell, be diffuse, be prolix, launch out, branch out, spin a long yarn, beat about the bush.

Moby Thesaurus

add to, aggrandize, amplify, augment, bag, balloon, belly, belly out, bilge, billow, bloat, blow up, bouge, broaden, bug, build, build up, bulge, bulk, bulk out, crescendo, descant, describe, detail, develop, discuss, dissert, dissertate, distend, elaborate, enlarge, enlarge upon, evolve, expand, expatiate, explicate, extend, fill out, goggle, greaten, hike, hike up, huff, increase, inflate, lengthen, magnify, narrate, particularize, pooch, pop, pouch, pout, prolong, protract, puff, puff up, pump, pump up, raise, rarefy, recite, recount, rehearse, rehearse in extenso, relate, relate at large, round out, sermonize, snowball, stretch, sufflate, swell, swell out, tumefy, unfold, up, widen, work out