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to dilate

to dilate

35 6.1
To become wider or more open, as when pupils open in the dark
  • verb
  • /daɪˈleɪt/
translation icon : dilatarse
  • His eyes are dilating.
  • dilated pupils
  • dilated blood vessels
  • dilated airways

I was expecting my pupils to be like super dilated and they weren't.

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Examples

  • In a few minutes, his pupil will dilate, allowing more light to pass through to the retina.

  • Ms Sumner, your pupils are dilating.

  • The pupils will dilate, making the eyes appear black.

  • Your heart rate increases, your pupils dilate, you breathe faster...

  • Your eyes dilate as the room snaps into focus.

  • The heat itself causes blood vessels to dilate, which improves blood flow and oxygen throughout your body.

  • Her pupils are dilated to approximately nine millimeters.

  • Her pulse was erratic, her breathing shallow, her pupils dilated, her skin cold to the touch.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Pupils fully dilated.

  • The doctor explained how the eye drops will dilate the pupils to allow for a better examination.

Synonyms

to expand
vsto dilate
805 2.5

To grow larger in size, amount, or importance

focuses on physical widening or opening rather than growth in importance
to stretch
vsto dilate
285 1.0

Make something longer or wider by pulling it

describes widening without requiring pulling or deliberate force
to broaden
vsto dilate
92 3.9

To make or become wider and include more things

is about physical opening or becoming larger not the abstract inclusive sense
to widen
vsto dilate
85 2.5

To make something have more space from one side to the other so it fits or moves more easily

also applies to opening or growing in general not only width
to enlarge
vsto dilate
70 3.0

To make something bigger in size or amount

focuses more on opening or widening specifically rather than any size increase
to distend
vsto dilate
12 8.2

To swell because of pressure inside, for example a stomach or a balloon

means widen without implying an internal pressure cause
to embiggen
vsto dilate
  • Slang
1 9.9

To make something bigger, often in a joking way

is the neutral standard word for growing or opening in normal use

Antonyms

52 3.0

Become smaller or tighter, for example when a muscle shortens

How Wide

to expand
805 2.5
to distend
12 8.2
to dilate
35 6.1
to widen
85 2.5
to open
1.0

Surface Forms

dilate infinitive
dilated past
dilated past participle
dilating present participle
dilates third person singular

Morphology

dilate = dilat + ate

Formed from the Latinate combining form 'dilat-' + the verb-forming suffix '-ate'; the meaning 'become wider' aligns with the historical stem but the stem is not a standalone English word, so learners cannot fully deduce it from common English bases.

Etymology

The word dilate comes from the Latin parts di- ('apart') and latus ('wide'), so it originally meant to 'make wide'. That's why to dilate is to become wider or more open, as when your pupils dilate in the dark.