activate

[ ak-tuh-veyt ]

verb (used with object)

, ac·ti·vat·ed, ac·ti·vat·ing.

1. to make active; cause to function or act.

   Synonyms: start, actuate

   Antonyms: halt, stop, check

2. Physics.
   1. to render more reactive; excite:

      to activate a molecule.

   2. to induce radioactivity.
3. to aerate (sewage) in order to accelerate decomposition of impure organic matter by microorganisms.
4. Chemistry.
   1. to make (carbon, a catalyst, molecules, etc.) more active.
   2. to hasten (reactions) by various means, as heating.
5. to place (a military unit or station) on an active status in an assigned capacity.

verb (used without object)

, ac·ti·vat·ed, ac·ti·vat·ing.

1. to become active or functional.

activate

/ ˈæktɪˌveɪt /

verb

1. to make active or capable of action
2. physics to make radioactive
3. chem
   1. to increase the rate of (a reaction)
   2. to treat (a substance, such as carbon or alumina) so as to increase powers of adsorption
4. physiol to prepare by arousal (the body or one of its organs (e.g. the brain)) for action
5. to purify (sewage) by aeration
6. military to create, mobilize, or organize (a unit)

Derived Forms

• ˈactiˌvator, noun
• ˌactiˈvation, noun

Other Words From

• ac·ti·va·tion [ak-t, uh, -, vey, -sh, uh, n], noun
• non·ac·ti·va·tion noun
• o·ver·ac·ti·vate verb (used with object) overactivated overactivating
• su·per·ac·ti·vate verb (used with object) superactivated superactivating
• un·ac·ti·vat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of activate¹

First recorded in 1620–30; active + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

According to Heather Nenov, an ophthalmologist from Stein Optometric Center, light entering the eye at a consistent brightness activates photoreceptors at the back of the eye.

From Outside Online

Depending on trim level, there are massaging seats, power-adjustable pedals, motion-activated liftgate and captain’s chairs instead of a bench seat in the second row.

From Washington Blade

In real time, they looked at how neurons in the hippocampus activated in response to fear, and found that they tend to transmit the information to the amygdala—the emotion center—more than average.

From Singularity Hub 

By better understanding the blood messengers involved, we could artificially activate this pathway and potentially protect the mental essence of what makes you you—even as your brain falters with age or disease.

From Singularity Hub 

In mice with light-sensitive neurons, the team activated multiple glomeruli with a specific pattern, which generated a hallucinatory sense of a particular scent—even if it wasn’t there and didn’t exist in nature.

From Singularity Hub 

I read a study not long ago that chewing actually does activate your brain.

From The Daily Beast

What would be in store for Lebanon if—or when—the cells activate was suggested by recent events.

From The Daily Beast

The manager responded by directing the first teller to call the police and activate the alarm.

From The Daily Beast

Perry will home in on the darkest corners of the Tea Party mind and work relentlessly to activate the demons that lurk there.

From The Daily Beast

He warned her that if she provided details of either him or their conversation, he would activate the explosive.

From The Daily Beast

A source of neutrons to activate the material and a gamma-ray spectrometer to measure the radiation from the material afterwards.

From Project Gutenberg

A neutron moderator slows down the neutrons and thus makes them more likely to activate the calcium in the bones.

From Project Gutenberg

When she was finished Rynason nodded for her to activate the linkage.

From Project Gutenberg

Activate the switch with the eraser-end of a pencil or small tool of similar size.

From Project Gutenberg

And so they might—if we had an unlimited supply of raw materials to produce robots, and unlimited power-sources to activate them.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• call up
• mobilize
• stimulate
• switch on
• trigger
• turn on