Diluted

How to spell diluted

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce diluted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does diluted mean?

1. adjectiveMade weaker or thinner by the addition of water or another liquid.
2. verbMade a liquid thinner or weaker by adding water; also weakened the strength or value of something.

Diluted in a sentence

• adjective

  The diluted orange squash tasted weak and watery.

• verb

  She diluted the strong coffee with a little extra hot water.

• adjective

  A diluted bleach solution is safer for cleaning kitchen surfaces.

• verb

  Issuing new shares diluted the value of each existing stake in the company.

Where does diluted come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb diluere, which meant 'to wash away' or 'to dissolve', formed from the prefix dis- (here in the worn-down form di-, meaning 'apart' or 'away') and luere, meaning 'to wash'. The original image was of something being washed apart or thinned out by water, which is precisely the modern sense of weakening a substance by adding liquid. English took the verb 'dilute' in the sixteenth century, and 'diluted' is simply its past form, used both as a verb and as an adjective. The same luere root, meaning 'to wash', also lies behind 'ablution', the formal word for washing, and 'deluge', a great flooding of water. The single 'l' and the 'u' before the 't' are the usual spelling snag, since the word sounds smoother than it looks.

How the word is built

• di- (from dis-, apart)
• lut (from Latin luere, to wash)
• -ed (past tense/adjective suffix)