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expatiate

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5 dictionary results for: expatiate

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·pa·ti·ate

[ik-spey-shee-eyt] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used without object), -at·ed, -at·ing.

1.	to enlarge in discourse or writing; be copious in description or discussion: to expatiate upon a theme.

2.	Archaic. to move or wander about intellectually, imaginatively, etc., without restraint.

[Origin: 1530–40; < L expatiātus ptp. of ex(s)patiārī to wander, digress, equiv. to ex- ex-¹ + spatiārī to walk about, deriv. of spatium space; see -ate¹

]

—Related forms

ex·pa·ti·a·tion, noun

ex·pa·ti·a·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·pa·ti·ate (ĭk-spā'shē-āt') Pronunciation Key
intr.v. ex·pa·ti·at·ed, ex·pa·ti·at·ing, ex·pa·ti·ates

To speak or write at length: expatiated on the subject until everyone was bored.
To wander freely.

[Latin expatiārī, expatiāt- : ex-, ex- + spatiārī, to spread (from spatium, space).]

ex·pa'ti·a'tion n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

expatiate
verb
add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation" [syn: elaborate] [ant: abbreviate]

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Expatiate

Ex*pa"ti*ate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Expatiated; p. pr. & vb. n. Expariating.] [L. expatiatus, exspatiatus, p. p. of expatiari, exspatiari, to expatiate; ex out + spatiari to walk about spread out, fr. spatium space. See Space.]

1. To range at large, or without restraint.

Bids his free soul expatiate in the skies. --Pope.

2. To enlarge in discourse or writing; to be copious in argument or discussion; to descant.

He expatiated on the inconveniences of trade. --Addison.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Expatiate

Ex*pa"ti*ate\, v. t. To expand; to spread; to extend; to diffuse; to broaden.

Afford art an ample field in which to expatiate itself. --Dryden.

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