distill

/dɪˈstɪl/ (bre, ipa) · /dɪˈstɪl/ (ame, ipa) · /di-ˈstil/ (ame, mw)

distill — verb

  • distillpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • distills3rd person singular
  • distilling-ing form
  • distilledpast simple

1. to boil a liquid such as water or alcohol, catch the steam that rises, and cool

1.動詞及物C1
釋義

to boil a liquid such as water or alcohol, catch the steam that rises, and cool it back into a cleaner or stronger liquid.

例句

Anna's grandfather used to distill plum brandy in a copper pot every autumn.

distill + [drink noun]: distill brandy / whisky / rum

The lab technicians distill seawater into drinking water for the remote island clinic.

distill + X + into + Y: source and product pattern

同義詞
  • refine

    broader; refining can be by filtering, chemical treatment, or heating — distilling is specifically by evaporation and condensation

  • purify

    general goal of removing impurities; distill names the particular method

文法句型

distill + noun

distill + noun + from + noun

用法筆記

Subject is usually a person, factory, or piece of equipment; object is the liquid or raw material being treated. Often appears in the passive when the focus is the finished product.

常見錯誤

❌Quan distilled the bottle of wine.
✅Quan distilled the wine to make brandy.
💡you distill the liquid itself, not its container.

2. to take a large amount of information, thought, or experience and reduce it to t

2.動詞及物C1
釋義

to take a large amount of information, thought, or experience and reduce it to the few key points that really matter.

例句

Tariq tried to distill twenty years of teaching into a short guide for new lecturers.

distill X into Y: source body of material → compact form

The report distills the findings of six separate studies into one clear summary.

同義詞
  • condense

    make shorter or denser; closer in meaning when the input is text, but 'distill' keeps the sense of pulling out only the most valuable part

  • extract

    take something out; 'extract' focuses on lifting one piece out, 'distill' focuses on what is left after the unimportant parts are removed

反義詞
  • elaborate

    add detail rather than reduce to essentials

文法句型

distill + noun + from + noun

distill + noun + into + noun

用法筆記

Object is usually a large or abstract body of material (research, experience, wisdom, emotion); result is something small and useful (a summary, a slogan, a song). Often followed by 'into' to name the compact result.

常見錯誤

❌Yuna distilled the article shorter.
✅Yuna distilled the article into a single page.
💡pair distill with 'into' + the compact result, not a comparative adjective.

3. of a liquid, to form slowly and fall in small drops from the air or from a surfa

3.動詞不及物C2
釋義

of a liquid, to form slowly and fall in small drops from the air or from a surface, the way mist or sap does.

例句

At dawn, fine dew distilled onto the long grass behind Tamar's cottage.

distill onto + [surface]: typical preposition

Resin slowly distills from the cut bark of pine trees in the warm summer sun.

distill from + [source surface]

同義詞
  • condense

    change from gas to liquid; condense names the physical change, distill emphasises the slow gathering and falling

  • drip

    more everyday and audible; distill is quieter and more literary

文法句型

[liquid] distills + [from/onto + place]

用法筆記

Subject is always a liquid (dew, mist, resin, moisture); the verb evokes a quiet, slow process. Mostly literary or scientific; everyday English would say 'form' or 'drip'.

常見錯誤

❌Élise distilled some water on the leaves.
✅Some water distilled on the leaves.
💡in this sense the verb is intransitive; the liquid is the subject, not the object.