expatiate
VerbOpen English WordNet
Verb (1)expatiated
- 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”Synonyms: elaboratelucubrateexpositenlargeflesh outexpandexpounddilateMore general clarify, clear upMore specific exemplify, set forth, specify, detail
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Ex·pa′ti·ate intransitive verb [past tense & past participle Expatiated; present participle & verbal noun Expariating.]
Origin: 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.— Alexander Pope
2. To enlarge in discourse or writing; to be copious in argument or discussion; to descant.
He expatiated on the inconveniences of trade.— Joseph Addison
Ex·pa′ti·ate transitive verb
To expand; to spread; to extend; to diffuse; to broaden.
Afford art an ample field in which to expatiate itself.— John Dryden
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54