ventilate

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verb ven·ti·late \ ˈven-tə-ˌlāt \

Definition of ventilate

ventilated; ventilating

transitive verb

1 a :to expose to air and especially to a current of fresh air for purifying, curing, or refreshing

ventilate stored grain

; also :oxygenate, aerate

ventilate blood in the lungs

b :to subject the lungs to ventilation

artificially ventilate a patient in respiratory distress

2 a :to examine, discuss, or investigate freely and openly :expose

ventilating family quarrels in public

b :to make public :utter

ventilated their objections at length

3 a of a current of air :to pass or circulate through so as to freshen

b :to cause fresh air to circulate through (a place, such as a room or a mine)

4 :to provide an opening in (a burning structure) to permit escape of smoke and heat

5 archaic :to free from chaff by winnowing

See ventilate defined for English-language learners

See ventilate defined for kids

Examples of ventilate in a Sentence

She opened the windows to ventilate the room.
The room was adequately ventilated.

Recent Examples of ventilate from the Web

France’s labor code runs to 3,000 pages and covers everything from wage negotiations to standards for ventilating offices.

— gregory viscusi, Bloomberg.com, "Macron Faces a Moment of Truth on French Labor Laws," 30 Aug. 2017
Oregon OSHA cited it for failing to ventilate the building, failing to have an adequate electrical system and failing to obtain city permits.

— noelle crombie, OregonLive.com, "Two sentenced in Astoria butane hash oil blast," 18 Aug. 2017
Ultimate trims have a long list of luxury features such as leather seating surfaces, heated and ventilated front seats, automatic climate control, and a heated steering wheel.

— drew dorian, Car and Driver, "2018 Hyundai Santa Fe," 9 Aug. 2017
The units heat and cool reservoirs of water, and researchers suspected that as the device ventilated heat or pumped water to the blankets, tiny droplets became aerosolized and spread through the operating room, carrying microbes with them.

— michael price, Science | AAAS, "We may now know how a rare, lethal microbe infected dozens of people across the globe," 12 July 2017
Everyone gets really sweaty (the room is not ventilated) doing jumping jacks and burpees and sit-ups, with the occasional downward dog thrown in.

— amy larocca, The Cut, "The Wellness Epidemic," 27 June 2017
Hazmat crew tested and ventilated the building, according to fire officials.

— Fox News, "5 children sickened by chlorine gas in indoor pool, Florida officials say," 27 June 2017
Surrounding businesses in the complex including Bar Louie and Starbucks remained open, and fire department crews ventilated the Forever Yogurt building.

— Naperville Sun, "Brown sugar on heating element sets off fire alarm in yogurt shop," 5 June 2017
A light breeze keeps things dry and ventilated, but nothing violent.

— mary orlin, The Mercury News, "Six cool things about grapevine bloom," 20 May 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of ventilate

Middle English, "discussed, aired," borrowed from Latin ventilātus, past participle of ventilāre "to expose to the air, fan, expose to consideration," from ventus "wind" + -ilāre, verbal suffix, variant of -ulāre originally in derivatives of nouns ending in -ulus, -ula, -ulum -ule — more at ¹wind

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First Known Use: 15th century

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ventilate Synonyms

Synonyms

air, expound, give, look, raise, sound, state, vent, express, voice

Antonyms

stifle, suppress

Related Words

advertise, announce, declare, enounce, enunciate, proclaim, say; broadcast, circulate, disseminate, publish; describe, write, write up; sound off, speak out, speak up; chime in; communicate, convey, put across, put over; offer, submit

Near Antonyms

censor, restrain, restrict

VENTILATE Defined for English Language Learners

ventilate

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verb

Definition of ventilate for English Language Learners

: to allow fresh air to enter and move through (a room, building, etc.)
: to express or discuss (something) openly or publicly

VENTILATE Defined for Kids

ventilate

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verb ven·ti·late \ ˈven-tə-ˌlāt \

Definition of ventilate for Students

ventilated; ventilating

1 :to let in air and especially a current of fresh air

Windows ventilate the room.

2 :to provide with fresh air

Keep the plants ventilated.

3 :to discuss freely and openly

You should ventilate your complaints.

Medical Dictionary

ventilate

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transitive verb ven·ti·late \ ˈvent-ᵊl-ˌāt \

medical Definition of ventilate

ventilated; ventilating

1 :to expose to air and especially to a current of fresh air for purifying or refreshing

2 a :oxygenate, aerate

ventilate blood in the lungs

b :to subject the lungs of (an individual) to ventilation

artifically ventilate a patient in respiratory distress

3 :to give verbal expression to (as mental or emotional conflicts)

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Examples of ventilate in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of ventilate

ventilate Synonyms

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VENTILATE Defined for English Language Learners

ventilate

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Medical Dictionary

ventilate

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