dilate

verb

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di·late | \ ˈdī-ˌlāt

, dī-ˈlāt

dilated; dilating

Definition of dilate

intransitive verb

1 : to become wide : swell the pupil of the eye dilates and contracts

2 : to comment at length : discourse —usually used with on or upondilating upon themes of love and death

transitive verb

1 : to enlarge or expand in bulk or extent : distend, widen dilate our cultural knowledge … long after Italian women used drops of belladonna to artificially dilate their pupils.— Michael H. Robinson

2 archaic : to describe or set forth at length or in detail dilate at full what hath befallen of them— Shakespeare

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Choose the Right Synonym for dilate

expand, amplify, swell, distend, inflate, dilate mean to increase in size or volume. expand may apply regardless of the manner of increase (such as growth, unfolding, addition of parts). a business that expands every year amplify implies the extension or enlargement of something inadequate. amplify the statement with details swell implies gradual expansion beyond a thing's original or normal limits. the bureaucracy swelled to unmanageable proportions distend implies outward extension caused by pressure from within. a distended abdomen inflate implies expanding by introduction of air or something insubstantial and suggests a vulnerability to sudden collapse. an inflated ego dilate applies especially to expansion of circumference. dilated pupils

Examples of dilate in a Sentence

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 this procedure the doctor will dilate the cervix to manually remove the tissue from the uterus. — Rachel Wells, Glamour, "What to Expect During a Miscarriage," 28 Oct. 2019 Other measures—like how much blood the heart is pumping and how much the blood vessels are dilating—can indicate levels of confidence. — Thomas Saltsman, Quartz, "How to make better decisions in a world overwhelmed by choice," 3 Oct. 2019 So anything that causes blood vessels to dilate can trigger a flare-up. — Nadia Berenstein, SELF, "Holiday Parties Bring Out the Worst of My Rosacea," 19 Dec. 2018 The government agency is investigating a potential link between pet foods with peas, lentils, potatoes and other legume seeds and instances of canine dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs not typically vulnerable to the disease. — Jennifer Calfas, Time, "Dog Heart Disease May Be Linked to Potato-Based Pet Food, FDA Says," 13 July 2018 As white blood cells rush into the fray, the blood vessels dilate, causing inflammation. — Richard Faulk, chicagotribune.com, "Here’s how medical marijuana can help with psoriasis," 5 Sep. 2019 The breath quickens, the pupils dilate, the heart begins to pound. — Diana Kwon, Scientific American, "Fight or Flight May Be In Our Bones," 12 Sep. 2019 Midwives, Doulas and Photographers At 9 centimeters dilated, Terra Hall’s first priority was the epidural. — Los Angeles Times, "Newsletter: Today: When a home means abandoning your past," 16 Aug. 2019 The three-millimeter-long maggot bends at its middle, latches its upper body to its rear end and dilates its lower half to increase the tension on that latch. — Scientific American, "Ballistic Maggots, Synthetic Winks and Why You’re Not Goop: This Week’s Best Science GIFs," 9 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dilate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.