dilate

verb

di·late ˈdī-ˌlāt How to pronounce dilate (audio)

dī-ˈlāt

dilated; dilating

intransitive verb

: to become enlarged or widened

Kim's eyes dilated while the outdoor stadium rocked in celebration.

Ralph Wiley

… arterioles continually dilate and constrict.

Janet Raloff

also : to display or become affected by expansion or widening of a body part

The expectant mother was dilating slowly. [=The expectant mother's cervix was dilating slowly.]

: to become expanded in extent

Understandably, a tendency to philosophize dilated with old age.

Anthony Powell

Time dilates when you mentally hop continents.

Bret Wallach

: to comment at length : discourse

—usually used with on or upon

It's no small irony that a man who made a career out of dilating on failure should have ended up a success.

James AtlasHe dwells and dilates upon every highlight and lowlight … — The New Yorker

transitive verb

: to enlarge, widen, or cause to expand

Nitric oxide is a potent vasodilator that increases blood flow by dilating blood vessels.

Ruth MacPete

Inhalers, the standard treatment for asthma, relieve wheezing by delivering an agent that dilates the bronchioles …

Tony Dajer

Cocaine … increases the heart rate, raises the blood pressure and, in large doses, increases the body temperature and dilates the pupils of the eyes.

Craif Van Dyke and Robert Byck

: to expand in extent

dilate our cultural knowledge

Like millions of other urban youths in the 1960s, Tian got a chance to dilate his horizons when he was sent into the countryside during the Cultural Revolution to learn from the peasantry.

Lawrence Chua

archaic : to describe or set forth at length or in detail

Do me the favor to dilate at full / What hath befallen of them …

William Shakespeare

dilatability

(ˌ)dī-ˌlā-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē How to pronounce dilate (audio)

noun

dilatable

dī-ˈlā-tə-bəl How to pronounce dilate (audio)

ˈdī-ˌlā-

adjective

dilator

dī-ˈlā-tər How to pronounce dilate (audio)

ˈdī-ˌlā-

noun

Example Sentences

The drug causes the blood vessels to dilate. During labor, a woman's cervix will dilate to about 10 centimeters. The drug dilates the blood vessels.

Recent Examples on the Web In hot temperatures, the vessels dilate and thus dissipate heat.

Stella Marie Hombach, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2022 After the operation, Amy will need to use dilators for at least the first year to keep the vaginal canal open, with most patients needing to dilate once or twice a month for the rest of their lives.

Mailee Osten-tan, Longreads, 8 June 2022 Misoprostol is a prostaglandin – a compound that has hormone-like effects on the body – that helps soften and dilate the cervix to expel the pregnancy.

Grace Shih, Chron, 27 July 2022 As your core temperature rises, neurons in your brain’s hypothalamus tell your peripheral blood vessels to dilate; this increases blood flow near the skin, where heat can dissipate through sweat.

Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 To send more blood to the skin’s surface, the heart beats faster and blood vessels dilate to accommodate more blood flow.

Dominique Mosbergen, WSJ, 20 July 2022 Try a nasal strip, which uses external tension to dilate the nasal pathways.

Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 July 2022 Within a few hours, the misoprostol will cause a person’s cervix to dilate and their uterus to contract, emptying the embryo from the person’s uterus.

Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY, 24 June 2022 Immediately prior to the procedure, your doctor will administer eye drops to dilate your pupil and anesthetize your eye.

Hoopes Vision, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Apr. 2022 See More

dilate

verb

as in to distend

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

distend
inflate
augment
increase
expand
swell
enlarge
accelerate
multiply
up
amplify
aggrandize
extend
escalate
stoke
compound
elongate
lengthen
blow up
pump up
skyrocket
jump
intensify
supersize
spike
prolong
protract
boost
build up
hype
draw out
boom
heighten
stretch
add (to)
enhance
magnify
develop
supplement
raise
complement
reinforce
rachet (up)
bump (up)
ratchet (up)
strengthen
flesh (out)
maximize
reenforce
beef (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

shorten
curtail
constrict
abridge
abbreviate
compress
contract
condense
reduce
retrench
diminish
decrease
lessen
abate
subtract (from)
lower
downsize
cut back
minify
dwindle
de-escalate

Synonym Chooser

Some common synonyms of dilate are amplify, distend, expand, inflate, and swell. While all these words mean "to increase in size or volume," dilate applies especially to expansion of circumference.

dilated pupils

In some situations, the words amplify and dilate are roughly equivalent. However, amplify implies the extension or enlargement of something inadequate.

amplify the statement with details

The words distend and dilate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, distend implies outward extension caused by pressure from within.

a distended abdomen

Although the words expand and dilate have much in common, expand may apply regardless of the manner of increase (such as growth, unfolding, addition of parts).

a business that expands every year

The synonyms inflate and dilate are sometimes interchangeable, but inflate implies expanding by introduction of air or something insubstantial and suggests a vulnerability to sudden collapse.

an inflated ego

The words swell and dilate can be used in similar contexts, but swell implies gradual expansion beyond a thing's original or normal limits.

the bureaucracy swelled to unmanageable proportions

单词	dilate
释义	dilate verb di·late ˈdī-ˌlāt dī-ˈlāt dilated; dilating intransitive verb 1 a : to become enlarged or widened Kim's eyes dilated while the outdoor stadium rocked in celebration. Ralph Wiley … arterioles continually dilate and constrict. Janet Raloff also : to display or become affected by expansion or widening of a body part The expectant mother was dilating slowly. [=The expectant mother's cervix was dilating slowly.] b : to become expanded in extent Understandably, a tendency to philosophize dilated with old age. Anthony Powell Time dilates when you mentally hop continents. Bret Wallach 2 : to comment at length : discourse —usually used with on or upon It's no small irony that a man who made a career out of dilating on failure should have ended up a success. James AtlasHe dwells and dilates upon every highlight and lowlight … — The New Yorker transitive verb 1 a : to enlarge, widen, or cause to expand Nitric oxide is a potent vasodilator that increases blood flow by dilating blood vessels. Ruth MacPete Inhalers, the standard treatment for asthma, relieve wheezing by delivering an agent that dilates the bronchioles … Tony Dajer Cocaine … increases the heart rate, raises the blood pressure and, in large doses, increases the body temperature and dilates the pupils of the eyes. Craif Van Dyke and Robert Byck b : to expand in extent dilate our cultural knowledge Like millions of other urban youths in the 1960s, Tian got a chance to dilate his horizons when he was sent into the countryside during the Cultural Revolution to learn from the peasantry. Lawrence Chua 2 archaic : to describe or set forth at length or in detail Do me the favor to dilate at full / What hath befallen of them … William Shakespeare dilatability (ˌ)dī-ˌlā-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē noun dilatable dī-ˈlā-tə-bəl ˈdī-ˌlā- adjective dilator dī-ˈlā-tər ˈdī-ˌlā- noun Synonyms amplify develop elaborate (on) enlarge (on or upon) expand flesh (out) See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences The drug causes the blood vessels to dilate. During labor, a woman's cervix will dilate to about 10 centimeters. The drug dilates the blood vessels. Recent Examples on the Web In hot temperatures, the vessels dilate and thus dissipate heat. Stella Marie Hombach, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2022 After the operation, Amy will need to use dilators for at least the first year to keep the vaginal canal open, with most patients needing to dilate once or twice a month for the rest of their lives. Mailee Osten-tan, Longreads, 8 June 2022 Misoprostol is a prostaglandin – a compound that has hormone-like effects on the body – that helps soften and dilate the cervix to expel the pregnancy. Grace Shih, Chron, 27 July 2022 As your core temperature rises, neurons in your brain’s hypothalamus tell your peripheral blood vessels to dilate; this increases blood flow near the skin, where heat can dissipate through sweat. Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 25 July 2022 To send more blood to the skin’s surface, the heart beats faster and blood vessels dilate to accommodate more blood flow. Dominique Mosbergen, WSJ, 20 July 2022 Try a nasal strip, which uses external tension to dilate the nasal pathways. Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 July 2022 Within a few hours, the misoprostol will cause a person’s cervix to dilate and their uterus to contract, emptying the embryo from the person’s uterus. Marina Pitofsky, USA TODAY, 24 June 2022 Immediately prior to the procedure, your doctor will administer eye drops to dilate your pupil and anesthetize your eye. Hoopes Vision, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Apr. 2022 See More Word History Etymology Middle English, from Middle French dilater, from Latin dilatare, literally, to spread wide, from dis- + latus wide — more at latitude First Known Use 14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2 Phrases Containing dilate dilate on/upon dilate on/upon Kids Definition dilate verb di·late dī-ˈlāt dilated; dilating : to make or grow larger or wider Her pupils dilated in the dark. Medical Definition dilate verb di·late dī-ˈlāt ˈdī-ˌ dilated; dilating transitive verb : to enlarge, widen, or cause to expand dilate his pupils with atropine the drug dilates peripheral arteries intransitive verb : to become enlarged, expanded, or widened the cervix was dilating the pupils dilated dilate verb as in to distend Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance distend inflate augment increase expand swell enlarge accelerate multiply up amplify aggrandize extend escalate stoke compound elongate lengthen blow up pump up skyrocket jump intensify supersize spike prolong protract boost build up hype draw out boom heighten stretch add (to) enhance magnify develop supplement raise complement reinforce rachet (up) bump (up) ratchet (up) strengthen flesh (out) maximize reenforce beef (up) Antonyms & Near Antonyms shorten curtail constrict abridge abbreviate compress contract condense reduce retrench diminish decrease lessen abate subtract (from) lower downsize cut back minify dwindle de-escalate See More Synonym Chooser Some common synonyms of dilate are amplify, distend, expand, inflate, and swell. While all these words mean "to increase in size or volume," dilate applies especially to expansion of circumference. dilated pupils In some situations, the words amplify and dilate are roughly equivalent. However, amplify implies the extension or enlargement of something inadequate. amplify the statement with details The words distend and dilate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, distend implies outward extension caused by pressure from within. a distended abdomen Although the words expand and dilate have much in common, expand may apply regardless of the manner of increase (such as growth, unfolding, addition of parts). a business that expands every year The synonyms inflate and dilate are sometimes interchangeable, but inflate implies expanding by introduction of air or something insubstantial and suggests a vulnerability to sudden collapse. an inflated ego The words swell and dilate can be used in similar contexts, but swell implies gradual expansion beyond a thing's original or normal limits. the bureaucracy swelled to unmanageable proportions
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dilate

verb

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing dilate

Kids Definition

verb

Medical Definition

verb

verb

Synonym Chooser