irradiate

[ verb ih-rey-dee-eyt; adjective ih-rey-dee-it, -eyt ]

verb (used with object)

, ir·ra·di·at·ed, ir·ra·di·at·ing.

1. to shed rays of light upon; illuminate.
2. to illumine intellectually or spiritually.
3. to brighten as if with light.
4. to radiate (light, illumination, etc.).
5. to heat with radiant energy.
6. to treat by exposure to radiation, as of ultraviolet light.
7. to expose to radiation.

verb (used without object)

, ir·ra·di·at·ed, ir·ra·di·at·ing.

1. Archaic.
   1. to emit rays; shine.
   2. to become radiant.

adjective

1. irradiated; bright.

irradiate

/ ɪˈreɪdɪˌeɪt /

verb

1. tr physics to subject to or treat with light or other electromagnetic radiation or with beams of particles
2. tr to expose (food) to electromagnetic radiation to kill bacteria and retard deterioration
3. tr to make clear or bright intellectually or spiritually; illumine
4. a less common word for radiate
5. obsolete.
   intr to become radiant

irradiate

/ ĭ-rā′dē-āt′ /

1. To expose to or treat with radiation. For example, meat sold as food is often irradiated with x-rays or other radiation to kill bacteria; uranium 238 can be irradiated with neutrons to create fissionable plutonium 239.

Derived Forms

• irˈradiative, adjective
• irˈradiˌator, noun

Other Words From

• ir·radi·ating·ly adverb
• ir·radi·ative adjective
• ir·radi·ator noun
• nonir·radi·ated adjective
• unir·radi·ated adjective
• unir·radi·ative adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of irradiate¹

1595–1605; < Latin irradiātus, past participle of irradiāre to shine upon. See ir- ¹, radiate

Example Sentences

Instead of using cobalt or other radioactive materials, Wilson’s team uses an X-ray machine to irradiate the pests.

From Los Angeles Times

In practice, however, this is of little use -- after all, it would be tedious to repeatedly irradiate the wall with intense UV light in order to drive the self-cleaning process.

From Science Daily

The NIF used indirect drive to irradiate a capsule with X-rays using about 2,000 kilojoules of laser energy.

From Science Daily

As soon as the salts in the liquid have accumulated to a significant degree, the researchers irradiate the liquid with light.

From Science Daily

"First, we irradiate the alloy with a strong laser pulse, which magnetizes the material," explains Theo Pflug.

From Science Daily