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Synonyms

irradiation

American  
[ih-rey-dee-ey-shuhn] / ɪˌreɪ diˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. the act of irradiating.

  2. the state of being irradiated.

  3. intellectual or spiritual enlightenment.

  4. a ray of light; beam.

  5. Optics. the apparent enlargement of an object when seen against a dark background.

  6. the use of x-rays or other forms of radiation for the treatment of disease, the making of x-ray photographs, the manufacture of vitamin D, etc.

  7. exposure or the process of exposure to x-rays or other radiation.

  8. Physics. irradiance.


irradiation British  
/ ɪˌreɪdɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

  1. the act or process of irradiating or the state of being irradiated

  2. the apparent enlargement of a brightly lit object when it is viewed against a dark background

  3. a shaft of light; beam or ray

  4. med

    1. the therapeutic or diagnostic use of radiation, esp X-rays

    2. exposure of a patient to such radiation

  5. another name for radiation irradiance

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • postirradiation adjective

Etymology

Origin of irradiation

First recorded in 1580–90, irradiation is from the Late Latin word irradiātiōn- (stem of irradiātiō ). See ir- 1, radiation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Their work also incorporates a technique called hot-wire laser irradiation.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026

The study examined additive manufacturing using hot-wire laser irradiation and tested two different fabrication strategies.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2026

"But, in the near term, we have shown that irradiation can be used as a high-precision measurement technique."

From Science Daily • May 17, 2024

"Looking years into the future, there's a possibility that ion irradiation can be used to deliberately introduce defects into materials and manipulate them," he said.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2024

Given a moist planet with methane, formaldehyde, ammonia, and some usable minerals, all of which abound, exposed to lightning or ultraviolet irradiation at the right temperature, life might start off almost anywhere.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas