1
sth dilates
常用于瞳孔、血管等生理膨胀。
Her pupils dilated in the dim light.
在昏暗的光线下，她的瞳孔放大了。
扩大；扩张
dilating — present participle of dilate
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
扩大；扩张
To make or become larger or wider.
Her pupils dilated in the dim light.
在昏暗的光线下，她的瞳孔放大了。
可作及物或不及物动词
扩大；使变大
To enlarge; to make bigger.
变宽或变大；扩展
To become wider or larger; to expand.
详述；详细叙述；展开；与“on”或“upon”连用
To speak largely and copiously; to dwell in narration; to enlarge; with "on" or "upon".
使用扩张器扩张(如阴道)
To use a dilator to widen (something, such as a vagina).
dilate
Base
原形
dilates
3rd person
第三人称单数
dilating
-ing
现在分词
dilated
Past
过去式
dilated
Past participle
过去分词
The pupils dilate in dim light.
瞳孔在昏暗的光线下扩大。
The doctor dilated her eyes to examine them.
医生扩大了她的瞳孔以便检查。
The blood vessels are dilating to increase blood flow.
血管正在扩张以增加血流量。
规则动词
Her pupils dilated in the dim light.
她的瞳孔在昏暗的灯光下放大了。
The medicine helps to dilate the blood vessels.
这种药有助于扩张血管。
In his dream, time seemed to dilate, stretching every moment.
在他的梦里，时间似乎放慢了，每一刻都被拉长。
常用于瞳孔、血管等生理膨胀。
Her pupils dilated in the dim light.
在昏暗的光线下，她的瞳孔放大了。
常用于医学语境。
The drug dilates blood vessels.
这种药物扩张血管。
正式用法，意为详细阐述。
He dilated on the importance of education.
他详述了教育的重要性。
Not this
He dilated his experiences.
Use this
He dilated on his experiences.
当 dilate 表示‘详述’时，必须后接介词 on 或 upon，不能直接跟宾语。
Not this
The economy dilated quickly after the reforms.
Use this
The economy expanded quickly after the reforms.
dilate 通常指孔洞或管腔的扩大（如瞳孔、血管），而经济等抽象或整体扩大应用 expand。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
使瞳孔扩大
The eye drops are used to dilate pupils during an eye exam.
这种滴眼液用于在眼科检查时放大瞳孔。
扩张血管
Regular exercise helps dilate blood vessels and improve circulation.
定期运动有助于扩张血管，改善血液循环。
扩张宫颈
The doctor may use medication to dilate the cervix before the procedure.
医生可能在手术前使用药物扩张宫颈。
详述；展开讲
She dilated on the details of her travels for over an hour.
她花了一个多小时详述她旅行的细节。
（瞳孔）因恐惧而扩大
Her pupils dilated with fear when she heard the noise.
听到响声时，她的瞳孔因恐惧而放大。
详述；展开说明
The author dilates on the importance of education in his new book.
作者在他的新书中详细阐述了教育的重要性。
Use dilating naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想 dilate 里的 late：一迟到就紧张，瞳孔就会放大、扩张。
语域：mixed 常见场景：医学/生理描述、正式书面语（dilate on/upon） 该词语域随搭配和场景变化：表示“变宽、变大”时多用于医学或科学等客观描述，语气比较正式；与 on/upon 连用表示“详述”时通常只见于正式书面语。日常口语中较少使用，更口语化的说法是 get bigger/wider。
与 dilate 押韵（/eɪt/）：late、rate、date、translate。注意：private 和 climate 虽也以 -ate 结尾，但分别读作 /ˈpraɪvɪt/ 和 /ˈklaɪmɪt/，发音不同，不能与 dilate 押韵。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY, WORDNET.