dilute

English

Etymology

From Latin dilutus, from diluere (“to wash away, dissolve, cause to melt, dilute”), from di-, dis- (“away, apart”) + luere (“to wash”). See lave, and compare deluge.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /daɪˈljuːt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /daɪˈlut/, /dɪˈlut/
  • Rhymes: -uːt

Verb

dilute (third-person singular simple present dilutes, present participle diluting, simple past and past participle diluted)

  1. (transitive) To make thinner by adding solvent to a solution; especially by adding water.
    • Blackmore
      Mix their watery store / With the chyle's current, and dilute it more.
  2. (transitive) To weaken, especially by adding a foreign substance.
    • Sir Isaac Newton
      Lest these colours should be diluted and weakened by the mixture of any adventitious light.
  3. (transitive, stock market) To cause the value of individual shares to decrease by increasing the total number of shares.
  4. (intransitive) To become attenuated, thin, or weak.
    it dilutes easily

Translations

Adjective

dilute (comparative more dilute, superlative most dilute)

  1. Having a low concentration.
    Clean the panel with a dilute, neutral cleaner.
  2. Weak; reduced in strength due to dilution, diluted.

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.

See also

References

  • dilute in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • dilute in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Latin

Participle

dīlūte

  1. vocative masculine singular of dīlūtus
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