I. eksˈhāl, chiefly before pause or consonant -āəl verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English exalen, from Latin exhalare, from ex- ex- (I) + halare to breathe; akin to Latin anima breath — more at animate
transitive verb
1. : to breathe out : let or force out of the lungs
exhaled carbon dioxide
exhaled a sigh
2. : to give off or give forth (gas or odor) : emit
the turned earth exhaled in the warm sun a delicate fragrance — Mary Austin
3. archaic : to draw out (moisture) : evaporate
4. : to discharge through a membranous surface — used in old medical terminology
intransitive verb
1. : to rise or be given off as vapor
a bad smell exhaling from the kitchen — Glenway Wescott
: emanate ; also : to vanish by or as if by evaporation
dried his hands … instead of suffering the moisture to exhale — Sir Walter Scott
2. : to breathe out : let or force the breath out — opposed to inhale
3. : to percolate through a membrane : ooze — used in old medical terminology
Synonyms: see emit
II. transitive verb
Etymology: ex- (I) + hale (to draw)
obsolete : to draw or force out
and what those sorrows could not thence exhale , thy beauty hath, and made them blind with weeping — Shakespeare