What does "dilate" mean?
To enlarge; to make bigger.
Dilate
/daɪˈleɪt/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To enlarge; to make bigger.
- Grammar: dilate is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: elaborate, expand, expatiate, add to.
- Useful contrasts: compactest, constricted, capsules.
- Usage evidence: Roman women would dilate their pupils with belladonna because they believed this made them more attractive. Eye doctors still use belladonna during eye exams.
How to use "dilate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "dilate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "dilate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "dilate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "dilate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "dilate" is acting as adj, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "elaborate" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "dilate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To enlarge; to make bigger. transitive
"The eye doctor put drops in my eye to dilate the pupil so he could see the nerve better."
- 2 To delay, defer. obsolete, transitive
"Without more time delated."
- 3 become wider wordnet
- 4 To become wider or larger; to expand. intransitive
"His heart dilates and glories in his strength."
- 5 To prolong, lengthen. obsolete, transitive
"A […] way to dilate a remembrance beyond the banks of Forgetfulness."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing wordnet
- 7 To speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration; to enlarge; with "on" or "upon". ambitransitive
"Do me the favour to dilate at full / What hath befallen of them and thee till now."
- 8 To use a dilator to widen (something, such as a vagina). ambitransitive
"An experimenter in New York has recently advocated what he is pleased to call temporary forcible dilatation of the trachea in the treatment of membranous croup, his idea being to introduce into the trachea a dilator and to forcibly dilate, every few hours if need be, and he reports favorable results."
Adjective
- 1 Carried in different ways, spread, abroad, dispersed, published. archaic, obsolete
"Returne the lords this voyce, we aré their creature : And it is fit, a good, and honeſt prince, Whom they, out of their bounty, haue inſtucted With ſo dilate, and abſolute a power, Should owe the office of it, to their ſeruice ; And good of all, and euery citizen."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Roman women would dilate their pupils with belladonna because they believed this made them more attractive. Eye doctors still use belladonna during eye exams."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "dilate"?
Common synonyms include: elaborate, expand, expatiate, add to, aggrandize, ample.
How do you use "dilate" in a sentence?
Roman women would dilate their pupils with belladonna because they believed this made them more attractive. Eye doctors still use belladonna during eye exams.
How do you pronounce "dilate"?
Pronounced /daɪˈleɪt/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
First attested in 1393, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English dilaten, from Old French dilater, from Latin dīlātō (“to spread out”), from dī- + lātus (“wide”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Doublet of dilatate.
Etymology 2
First attested in 1399, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English dilaten (“to delay, tarry”), borrowed from Latin dīlātus, perfect passive participle of Latin dīfferō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)). If so, Doublet of defer and differ; see also infer, relate and refer, collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prefer and prelate among others. Alternatively, from Latin dīlātō, see Etymology 1.
Etymology 3
First attested in 1471, in Middle English; borrowed from Latin dīlātus, see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and Etymology 2 for more.