dilated; dilating
1
a
: to become enlarged or widened
Kim's eyes dilated while the outdoor stadium rocked in celebration.—Ralph Wiley
… arterioles continually dilate and constrict.—Janet Raloff
also
: to display or become affected by expansion or widening of a body part
The expectant mother was dilating slowly. [=The expectant mother's cervix was dilating slowly.]
b
: to become expanded in extent
Understandably, a tendency to philosophize dilated with old age.—Anthony Powell
Time dilates when you mentally hop continents.—Bret Wallach
2
: to comment at length : discourse
—usually used with on or upon
It's no small irony that a man who made a career out of dilating on failure should have ended up a success.—James Atlas
He dwells and dilates upon every highlight and lowlight …—The New Yorker
1
a
: to enlarge, widen, or cause to expand
Nitric oxide is a potent vasodilator that increases blood flow by dilating blood vessels.—Ruth MacPete
Inhalers, the standard treatment for asthma, relieve wheezing by delivering an agent that dilates the bronchioles …—Tony Dajer
Cocaine … increases the heart rate, raises the blood pressure and, in large doses, increases the body temperature and dilates the pupils of the eyes.—Craif Van Dyke and Robert Byck
b
: to expand in extent
dilate our cultural knowledge
Like millions of other urban youths in the 1960s, Tian got a chance to dilate his horizons when he was sent into the countryside during the Cultural Revolution to learn from the peasantry.—Lawrence Chua
2
archaic
: to describe or set forth at length or in detail
Do me the favor to dilate at full / What hath befallen of them …—William Shakespeare
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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