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/daɪlˈeɪt/ Listen

verb

Dilate v. t. (past & past part. dilated; pres. part. dilating)

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.

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."

Synonyms: To expand; swell; distend; enlarge; spread out; amplify; expatiate.

Dilate v. i.

To grow wide; to expand; to swell or extend in all directions. "His heart dilates and glories in his strength."

To speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration; to enlarge; with on or upon. "But still on their ancient joys dilate."

adjective

Dilate adj. Extensive; expanded. (Obs.)

See images of 'Dilate'

Etymology of 'Dilate'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Dilate" Quotes from Famous Books

... Indians. The ethnologist would find fruitful opportunities in the country. The Eskimos, one of the most interesting of primitive races, have still a firm foothold in the North—chiefly around the five stations of the Moravian Brethren, upon whose heroic work I need not now dilate. The Montagnais Indians roam the interior. They are a branch of the ancient Algonquin race who held North America as far west as the Rockies. They are the hereditary foes of the Eskimos, whole settlements of whom they have more than once exterminated. Gradually, ...

— A Labrador Doctor - The Autobiography of Wilfred Thomason Grenfell • Wilfred Thomason Grenfell

... as fast as she could, eager to dilate on the subject of the embarrassed Orlando's virtues, flattered in her motherly old heart by the praise of his sermons, and yet, all the time, while her peaked chin worked excitedly, thinking about the roasted young pig that waited for her ...

— The Miller Of Old Church • Ellen Glasgow

... above a whisper, seemed to dilate to the limit of the room. Arment looked toward the door; then his embarrassed glance ...

— The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton, Part 2 (of 10) • Edith Wharton

... dried-up specialist did not dilate into fighting dimensions as—perhaps, again—the Master may have thought he would. He looked a mild surprise, but remained as quiet as one of his own beetles when you touch him and he makes believe he is dead. The blank silence became oppressive. ...

— The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table • Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (The Physician and Poet not the Jurist)

... and her eyes seemed to dilate with joy. Her hand crept timidly up to his thick locks; she fondly brushed them aside from his broad forehead, which she pressed down to ...

— The Golden Dog - Le Chien d'Or • William Kirby

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