dilute

D2I1L1U1T1E1
UK/daɪˈljuːt/Canada, US/daɪˈlut/Canada, US/dɪˈlut/Australia/dɑeˈlʉt/

verb

To make thinner by adding solvent to a solution, especially by adding water.

“It dilutes easily.”

Similar
abasedashsophisticateadulteradulterateadulterizealloybalderdash
Opposite
condenseconcentrate
OriginLatin dīlūtus →
Less commonScrabble 7
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Meanings

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

present singular third person dilutes · participle present diluting · participle past diluted · past diluted

  1. transitiveTo make thinner by adding solvent to a solution, especially by adding water.

    Mix their watery store / With the chyle's current, and dilute it more.

    1712, Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem

    Antonyms: condense, concentrate

  2. transitiveTo weaken, especially by adding a foreign substance.

    “Stay a little.” “Not another second: language and discussion dilute thought; I will say no more.”

    1856, L. S. Lavenu, chapter XXXIII, in Erlesmere; or, Contrasts of Character, volume 1, London: Smith, Elder & Co., page 336
    3 more examples

    For if these Colours be diluted and weakened by the Mixture of any adventitious light, the distance between the places of the Paper will not be so great.

    1704, I[saac] N[ewton], “[The First Book of Opticks. Part I.] ”, in Opticks: Or, A Treatise of the Reflexions, Refractions, Inflexions and Colours of Light. […], London: […] Sam[uel] Smith, and Benj[amin] Walford, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 36

    It's healthy to have people in the military who would perhaps rather be somewhere else; they can dilute the more gung-ho military types.

    1980 August 30, Jil Clark, quoting Jane, “Gays Talk About Registration and the Draft”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 6, page 9

    Courts have repeatedly struck down Republican-drawn maps on the grounds that they constitute illegal racial gerrymanders designed to dilute the electoral power of Black voters, who overwhelmingly cast Democratic ballots.

    2025 October 27, Russell Berman, “‘California Is Allowed to Hit Back’”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 04 Nov 2025

    Synonyms: abase, dash, sophisticate, abase, adulter, adulterate, adulterize, alloy

  3. transitivebusinessTo cause the value of individual shares or the stake of a shareholder to decrease by increasing the total number of shares.
  4. intransitiveTo become attenuated, thin, or weak.

    It dilutes easily.

adjectivedilute (comparative more dilute, superlative most 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 by dilution; diluted.
  3. Of an animal: having a lighter-coloured coat than is usual.

    a dilute calico

    1 more example

    a cat with a dilute tortoiseshell coat

noundilute (plural dilutes)

plural dilutes

  1. An animal having a lighter-coloured coat than is usual.

    On average, blues and other dilutes have weaker coats and skin problems seem more prevalent in the dilutes.

    2000, Joe Stahlkuppe, American Pit Bull Terrier Handbook, page 131

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo make thinner by adding solvent to a solution, especially by adding water.

Opposite
condenseconcentrate

verbTo weaken, especially by adding a foreign substance.

Similar
abasedashsophisticateabaseadulteradulterateadulterizealloybalderdashcorruptbastardizedashembasesophisticate

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivereduced in strength or concentration or quality or purity

Similar
dilutedcutthinnedweakenedwaterywashyweakwhite

verblessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture

Similar
thinthin outreducecut
Broader
weaken

verbcorrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones

Similar
loadadulteratestretchdebaseextend
Broader
corruptspoil
Also see
abaseadulteradulterateadulterizealloyattenuatebalderdashbastardizecorruptcutdashdebasedilutedembaseleanloadreducesophisticatestretchthinthin outwashywateryweakweakenweakenedwhitewishy-washy

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latindīlūtus
  2. Englishdilute

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

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic خَفَّفَ
  • خَفَّفَ (ḵaffafa)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Bulgarian разреждам, разводнявам
  • разреждам (razreždam)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • разводнявам (razvodnjavam)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • разреден (razreden)having a low concentration
Catalan diluir
  • diluirto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Chinese Mandarin 稀釋 /稀释
  • 稀釋 /稀释 (xīshì)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Czech ředit, zředit
  • ředitto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • zředitto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Dutch verdunnen
  • verdunnento add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Finnish laimentaa, ohentaa
  • laimentaato add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • ohentaato add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • laimentaato weaken
  • heikentääto weaken
  • jatkaato weaken
  • vesittääto weaken
  • dilutoidastock market: to decrease the value of individual shares by increasing the total number of shares
  • laimentaastock market: to decrease the value of individual shares by increasing the total number of shares
  • laimeahaving a low concentration
  • mietohaving a low concentration
  • laimennettuweak
  • laihaweak
French diluer, couper
  • diluerto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • couperto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • diluéhaving a low concentration
  • diluéehaving a low concentration
  • faibleweak
German verdünnen, verwässern
  • verdünnento add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • verwässernto weaken
  • abschwächento weaken
  • verwässernstock market: to decrease the value of individual shares by increasing the total number of shares
  • verdünnthaving a low concentration
  • verwässertweak
Greek αραιώνω
  • αραιώνω (araióno)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Hebrew דילל, החליש
  • דילל (dilél)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • החליש (hekhlísh)to weaken
  • דל—also sp. דלל (dal)to weaken
  • דילדל (dildél)to weaken
  • מדולל (medulal)having a low concentration
  • חלש (chalash)weak
  • דל (dal)weak
Hungarian hígít, híg
  • hígítto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • híghaving a low concentration
Icelandic þynna, veikja
  • þynnato add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • veikjato weaken
  • þynnato weaken
  • þynnturhaving a low concentration
  • þynnthaving a low concentration
  • veikurweak
Irish caol
  • caolweak
Italian diluire
  • diluireto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Japanese 薄める, 希釈する
  • 薄める (usumeru)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • 希釈する (kishaku suru)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Latin diluere, hebetare
  • diluereto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • hebetareto weaken
  • affligereto weaken
  • deminuereto weaken
  • dilutushaving a low concentration
  • imbecillusweak
  • mollisweak
Malay mencair
  • mencairto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Māori waimeha, waimeha
  • waimehato add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • waimehahaving a low concentration
Polish rozcieńczać, rozcieńczony
  • rozcieńczaćto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • rozcieńczonyhaving a low concentration
Portuguese diluir, diluir
  • diluirto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • diluirto weaken
Romanian dilua, diluat
  • diluato add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • diluathaving a low concentration
Russian разбавля́ть, разба́вить
  • разбавля́ть (razbavljátʹ)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • разба́вить (razbávitʹ)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • размыва́ть (razmyvátʹ)stock market: to decrease the value of individual shares by increasing the total number of shares
  • разбавленный (razbavlennyj)having a low concentration
  • разведённый (razvedjónnyj)having a low concentration
Spanish diluir, diluir
  • diluirto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • diluirto weaken
  • desleírto weaken
Swedish späda ut, tunna ut
  • späda utto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • tunna utto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • späda utto weaken
  • tunna utto weaken
  • späda utstock market: to decrease the value of individual shares by increasing the total number of shares
Tagalog binantuan, malabnaw
  • binantuanhaving a low concentration
  • malabnawhaving a low concentration
Ukrainian розбавля́ти, розба́вити
  • розбавля́ти (rozbavljáty)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • розба́вити (rozbávyty)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • розво́дити (rozvódyty)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
  • розвести́ (rozvestý)to add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water
Vietnamese pha loãng
  • pha loãngto add more of a solvent to a solution; especially to add more water

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with dilute

suiteminuterouteutcuteshootdisputeacutesubstitutepursuitqtcomputerecruitfluterebootbuttemuteBeirutsalutecommutebrutelootmootnewt
All rhymes →

Anagrams

Duteil
Cite this entry
APA

dilute. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilute

MLA

“dilute.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilute. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dilute,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dilute.

Source: dilute on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.