Dilute
/daɪˈluːt/
verbadjectiveB2
Definition
Dilute means to make a liquid less strong by adding more water or another liquid. This makes the original liquid weaker or less powerful. When used as an adjective, dilute describes something that is less strong or less pure because it has been mixed with something else.
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⚡ See It in Action
To make a liquid weaker by adding water or another liquid
- •Please dilute the juice with some water before drinking.
- •The scientist diluted the acid to make it safer to handle.
- •You should dilute the paint with water to get a lighter color.
Describing something less strong or less pure because it is mixed
- •The soup tastes dilute because it has too much water.
- •The company’s message became dilute after too many changes.
- •The flavor of the sauce was dilute after adding extra broth.
🧲 Make It Stick
- ✓Think of "dilute" like "water down" (A1 phrase), but as one word meaning to make something less strong by adding liquid.
- ✓Picture adding water to juice: the juice color becomes lighter and the taste less strong.
- ✓It's the feeling when your strong coffee becomes weak after adding too much milk or water.
- ✓Sounds like "die-LOOT" → imagine a treasure (loot) that is slowly becoming less valuable because it is mixed with ordinary stones.
- ✓Imagine a story where a wizard’s magic potion is diluted by careless mixing, making it less powerful.
- ✓NOT like "concentrate" (strong and full of flavor), "dilute" makes something weaker by adding more liquid.
- ✓NOT like "destroy" (break or ruin), "dilute" just makes something less strong but still there.
- ✓NOT like "mix" in general, "dilute" means mixing with something to make it less strong, not just combining.
🔄 Try Other Words
- •Water down: to make something weaker by adding water (Use when speaking informally about reducing strength, especially for liquids or ideas)
- •Thin: to make a liquid less thick or less strong (Use when focusing on the texture or thickness of a liquid)
- •Weaken: to reduce strength or power (Use for general weakening, not only liquids)
- •Reduce: to make smaller or less in amount or strength (Use in broader contexts, including liquids and abstract ideas)
🔍 Unboxing
- •Word parts: "di-" (not a separate prefix here) + "lute" (from Latin root related to washing or loosening)
- •Etymology: From Latin "dilutus," past participle of "diluere," meaning to wash away or make thin by adding water
- •Historical development: Originally meant to wash or make something thinner by adding liquid, later used for weakening liquids or substances by mixing
- •Modern usage: Used in science, cooking, and everyday language to describe making liquids or ideas less strong by adding something else
💭 Reflect & Connect
•How can diluting a liquid change its usefulness or safety in everyday life?
•Can ideas or feelings be diluted like liquids? What would that mean in real situations?
Fill in the blanks with the correct word:
1.You need to dilute the syrup with ___ before adding it to the drink.
2.When a strong flavor is dilute, it usually means it has too much ___ mixed in.
3.Unlike concentrate, dilute means something has been made ___ by adding liquid.
4.If you dilute a chemical too much, it might ___ its effect and become useless.
5.The soup tasted dilute because the cook added too much ___.
6.To make the paint less thick, you can dilute it by mixing it with ___.
7.When a message becomes dilute, it often loses its ___ and power.