Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

distil

/dəˈstɪl/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 2.04 in modern English

Syllables
di-stil
IPA
/dəˈstɪl/
7
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To exude (a liquid) in small drops; also, to give off (a vapour) which condenses in small drops.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

To impart (information, etc.) in small quantities; to infuse.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

To heat (a substance, usually a liquid) so that a vapour is produced, and then to cool the vapour so that it condenses back into a liquid, either to purify the original substance or to obtain one of its components; to subject to distillation.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

Followed by off or out: to expel (a volatile substance) from something by distillation.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

To extract the essence of (something) by, or as if by, distillation; to concentrate, to purify.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

To transform a thing (into something else) by distillation.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

To make (something, especially spirits such as gin and whisky) by distillation.

British usage; Transitive verb

verb

To train a neural network on the outputs or behaviour of a more complex model in order to transfer selected knowledge and capabilities and create a smaller, more focused, or more efficient model.

British usage; Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Late Middle English distillen (“to fall, flow, or shed in drops, drop, trickle; to shed drops; to fill (the eyes) with tears; (alchemy, medicine) to subject (something) to distillation; to obtain (something) using distillation; to distil; to condense or vaporize; (figuratively) to give (good fortune) to; to say (slanderous words)”) [and other forms], from Old French distiller (modern French distiller (“to distil”)), and from its etymon Latin distīllāre, a variant of Latin dēstīllāre, the present active infinitive of dēstīllō (“to drip or trickle down; to distil”), from dē- (prefix meaning ‘down, down from, down to’) + stīllō (“to drip, drop, trickle; to distil”) (from stīlla (“drop of liquid; (figuratively) small quantity”), probably a diminutive of stīria (“ice drop; icicle”)). Cognates * French distiller (“to distil”) * Italian distillare (“to distil”) * Occitan distillar * Portuguese destilar (“to distil; to drip”) * Spanish destilar (“to distil; to exude; to filter”)

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /dəˈstɪl/
  • British English: /dɪˈstɪl/

Usage

Inflected Forms

distils (present, singular) distilling (participle, present) distilled (participle, past) distilled (past) distill (alternative, US)

Derived Forms

distillable distillage distilled distiller distillery distilling distilment redistil

Frequently Paired Words

distillate distillation distillatory still

Synonyms

distill extract condense purify sublimate make pure

Rhymes With

will still until bill kill hill till ill fill brazil skill mill

Questions

How do you pronounce distil?
The recorded pronunciation is /dəˈstɪl/.
What does distil mean?
To exude (a liquid) in small drops; also, to give off (a vapour) which condenses in small drops.
Where does distil come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce distil

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “distil”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dəˈstɪl/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “distil”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “distil” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.