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Glite Dictionary
to divaricate

to divaricate

9.9
To spread apart from a common point like fingers or branches
  • verb
  • /dɪˈværɪkeɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : divaricar
  • As clinchers, nine plant species divaricate only when small and cease doing so when they grow to about ten feet—just high enough to put them beyond the reach of the tallest moas.
  • divaricating plants

Examples

  • In the garden, the vines started to divaricate, spreading out from the trellis.

  • The branches began to divaricate, creating a beautiful display of foliage in different directions.

  • A clue to which herbivores the divaricating plants feared is the plants' striking distribution.

    Academic text (1990)

  • As the river flows, the banks divaricate, forming several smaller channels.

Synonyms

to spread out
vsto divaricate
89 2.8

To move apart and cover a wider area

focuses on branching from a shared point rather than simple dispersion
to fan out
vsto divaricate
30 3.7

To spread out from one point in different directions

is broader, including branching and general separation from a shared origin
to ramify
vsto divaricate
  • Specialized
1 8.4

To spread out into many branches like a tree or its roots

describes general spreading from a common point rather than structural division
to dispread
vsto divaricate
  • Archaic
9.9

To move outward in many directions to cover a wide area

focuses on branching from a common origin rather than only wide extension

Antonyms

to converge
51 5.5

To come together from different places and meet at one point

How Wide

to spread
664 1.6
to radiate
8 5.0
to divaricate
  • Specialized
9.9
to diverge
19 6.8
branch
243 1.0
separate
829 2.1

Surface Forms

divaricate infinitive
divaricated past
divaricated past participle
divaricating present participle
divaricates third person singular

Morphology

divaricate = divaric + ate

Although analyzable into a combining form plus the productive verb-forming suffix '-ate', the root 'divaric' is not a standalone English word and the components are not transparently interpretable by average learners.

Etymology

The word divaricate comes from Latin parts, with di- meaning 'apart' and a root meaning 'to spread'. Think of words like divide or diverge, which also mean 'move apart'. So to divaricate is to spread or branch out from a common point.