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View synonyms for transpire

transpire

[ tran-spahyuhr ]

verb (used without object)

, tran·spired, tran·spir·ing.
  1. to occur; happen; take place.
  2. to emit or give off waste matter, watery vapor, etc., through the surface, as of the body or of leaves.
  3. to escape, as moisture or odor, through or as if through pores.
  4. to be revealed or become known.


verb (used with object)

, tran·spired, tran·spir·ing.
  1. to emit or give off (waste matter, watery vapor, an odor, etc.) through the surface, as of the body or of leaves.

transpire

/ ˌtrænspəˈreɪʃən; trænˈspaɪə /

verb

  1. intr to come to light; be known
  2. informal.
    intr to happen or occur
  3. physiol to give off or exhale (water or vapour) through the skin, a mucous membrane, etc
  4. (of plants) to lose (water in the form of water vapour), esp through the stomata of the leaves


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Usage

It is often maintained that transpire should not be used to mean happen or occur, as in the event transpired late in the evening , and that the word is properly used to mean become known, as in it transpired later that the thief had been caught . The word is, however, widely used in the former sense, esp in spoken English

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Derived Forms

  • tranˈspiratory, adjective
  • transpiration, noun
  • tranˈspirable, adjective

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Other Words From

  • tran·spir·a·ble adjective
  • tran·spir·a·to·ry [tran-, spahyr, -, uh, -tawr-ee], adjective
  • un·tran·spir·ing adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of transpire1

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Middle French transpirer, from Medieval Latin trānspīrāre, equivalent to Latin trāns- trans- + spīrāre “to breathe”

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Word History and Origins

Origin of transpire1

C16: from Medieval Latin transpīrāre , from Latin trans- + spīrāre to breathe

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Example Sentences

Some of the plays transpired almost precisely as drawn or conceived.

Instead, as they transpire water during the heat of the day they cool the surrounding air.

This victory also comes with its own unique context—though this time shaped by events transpiring far beyond Arthur Ashe stadium.

From Fortune

“We want to see what has transpired and that way the public can have confidence their elected leaders and civil servants have conducted business with the highest level of integrity,” he said.

These contracts are essential to the process of surrogacy, because they outline specifically what will transpire during your surrogacy journey.

And how could I let such a thing as cancer transpire on my watch?

Whether all this can successively transpire in the wake of whatever happens with health-care legislation is highly problematic.

What his object was in denying knowledge we knew he possessed did not transpire till later.

To take a present instance: the verb transpire formerly conveyed very expressively its correct meaning, viz.

An event of so much importance could not be suffered to transpire without being duly solemnized.

They found the room already occupied by some six or eight street roughs, evidently waiting for what might transpire.

But an occurrence which now happened distracted attention from the so-called plot, whether real or imaginary did not transpire.

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transpirationtranspired