Learn English – antonym for “compressive”

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The tidal field (of the Earth on the Moon, for example) is compressive in the two tangential directions, but stretching in the radial direction. I.e. it pulls at the Moon (towards Earth and in the opposite direction).

What is more appropriate/suitable than stretching here?

EDIT: an antonym for "compression" is "expansion", but is "expansive" appropriate?

Best Answer

Dilation. Real-world example from Mid-Ocean Ridges: Dynamics of Processes Associated with the Creation of New Oceanic Crust (emphasis is mine):

The tidal dilation of continental aquifers also acts to displace the water level within the aquifer.

According to Oxford Living Dictionaries, dilate is:

Make or become wider, larger, or more open.

Attribution:

1 Cann, J.R., Cann, J.R., Elderfield, H., Elderfield, H. & Laughton, A.S. (1999). Mid-Ocean Ridges: Dynamics of Processes Associated with the Creation of New Oceanic Crust. Cambridge University Press

2 "Dilate | Definition of Dilate in English by Oxford Dictionaries." Oxford Dictionaries | English. Accessed April 20, 2018. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/dilate.

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