dilate
dilate — 動詞
- dilatepresent simple I / you / we / they
- dilateshe / she / it
- dilatedpast simple
- dilating-ing form
1. When something such as the pupil of your eye or a blood vessel becomes wider, it
擴張；放大
身體部位變寬或張開
When something such as the pupil of your eye or a blood vessel becomes wider, it dilates. If a medical treatment or a natural process dilates it, it makes that area wider.
The optician put drops in Felix's eyes to dilate his pupils for the examination.
驗光師在 Felix 的眼睛裡滴了眼藥水，以擴張他的瞳孔進行檢查。
dilate + body part (transitive use)
Emily's pupils dilated when she stepped from the dark room into the bright sunlight.
Emily 從黑暗的房間走到明亮的陽光下時，她的瞳孔擴張了。
body part + dilate (intransitive, natural reaction)
The midwife told Talia that her cervix had dilated to seven centimetres.
助產士告訴 Talia，她的子宮頸已經擴張到七公分。
Doctors say that regular exercise helps blood vessels dilate and improves circulation.
醫生說規律運動有助於血管擴張，並促進血液循環。
blood vessels + dilate (common collocation)
Bilal felt his nostrils dilate as the smell of rain filled the dry afternoon air.
Bilal 聞到潮濕的空氣時，感覺自己的鼻孔擴張了。
- pupils dilate
- dilate the pupils
- blood vessels dilate
- cervix dilates
- nostrils dilate
文法句型
part of body + dilate
dilate + body part
用法筆記
Frequently used in medical and physiological descriptions. The verb can be transitive (someone dilates something) or intransitive (something dilates by itself). The intransitive form is more common in everyday speech.
常見錯誤
2. To speak or write about a subject in great detail, usually for a long time.
詳述；闡述
詳細地談論或書寫某主題
To speak or write about a subject in great detail, usually for a long time.
The professor dilated on the history of democracy for nearly two hours.
那位教授花了將近兩個小時詳述民主制度的歷史。
dilate on + topic (formal register)
In her latest book, the author dilates upon the social changes of the 1960s.
在她最新的書中，作者詳細闡述了 1960 年代的社會變遷。
dilates upon + topic
Kabir dilated on his travel experiences until his friends started to lose interest.
Kabir 詳述他的旅遊經歷，直到朋友們開始失去興趣。
The politician dilated upon every detail of the new policy without giving a short answer.
那位政治人物詳細說明了新政策的每個細節，沒有簡單帶過。
- dilate on a subject
- dilate upon a topic
- summarise
to give only the main points, the opposite of providing full detail
文法句型
dilate on + subject
dilate upon + subject
用法筆記
Always followed by the preposition 'on' or 'upon'. This sense is formal and literary — it is rarely used in casual conversation. 'Elaborate on' or 'expand on' are more common alternatives in everyday speech.
常見錯誤
同根字
- dilation名詞B2
- dilator名詞C1
- dilatable形容詞C1
- dilatory形容詞C2