activate

[ak-tuh-veyt]

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verb (used with object), ac·ti·vat·ed, ac·ti·vat·ing.

to make active; cause to function or act.

Physics.

to render more reactive; excite: to activate a molecule.
to induce radioactivity.

to aerate (sewage) in order to accelerate decomposition of impure organic matter by microorganisms.

Chemistry.

to make (carbon, a catalyst, molecules, etc.) more active.
to hasten (reactions) by various means, as heating.

to place (a military unit or station) on an active status in an assigned capacity.

Origin of activate

First recorded in 1620–30; active + -ate¹

Related formsac·ti·va·tion, nounnon·ac·ti·va·tion, nouno·ver·ac·ti·vate, verb (used with object), o·ver·ac·ti·vat·ed, o·ver·ac·ti·vat·ing.su·per·ac·ti·vate, verb (used with object), su·per·ac·ti·vat·ed, su·per·ac·ti·vat·ing.un·ac·ti·vat·ed, adjective

Can be confusedactivate actuate stimulate

Synonyms for activate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR activate ON THESAURUS.COM

1. actuate, start, turn on, set going.

Antonyms for activate

1. stop, halt, check.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for activate

trigger, mobilize, stimulate, move, prompt, propel, energize, motivate, actuate, impel, start, arouse, rouse, stir

Examples from the Web for activate

Contemporary Examples of activate

I read a study not long ago that chewing actually does activate your brain.
Elizabeth Gilbert: How I Write
Noah Charney
October 2, 2013
The manager responded by directing the first teller to call the police and activate the alarm.
New Usual Suspects in U.S. Bank Heists: Women
Michael Daly
May 14, 2012
Perry will home in on the darkest corners of the Tea Party mind and work relentlessly to activate the demons that lurk there.
Perry: King of the Know-Nothings
Michael Tomasky
August 19, 2011
Made from a Chinese root, TA-65 helps to activate telomerase, which rebuilds the strands.
The New Science of Reverse Aging
Danielle Friedman
November 7, 2010
We now know that both of the so-called printer bombs employed circuit boards from cellphones to activate the detonators.
Al Qaeda's Doomsday Plan
Clive Irving
November 2, 2010

Historical Examples of activate

It seemed to activate some hidden response in her, for she glowed with tenderness.
Martians Never Die
Lucius Daniel
And, remember, if it becomes necessary, I can activate the manacle.
The Players
Everett B. Cole
Feedback will be to a master control servo that'll activate the heater or cooler.
Question of Comfort
Les Collins
The males are few in number and lack the power to activate the disks.
Storm Over Warlock
Andre Norton
It could be induced to go into action and to activate the other plasmoids.
Legacy
James H Schmitz

British Dictionary definitions for activate

activate

verb (tr)

to make active or capable of action

physics to make radioactive

chem

to increase the rate of (a reaction)
to treat (a substance, such as carbon or alumina) so as to increase powers of adsorption

physiol to prepare by arousal (the body or one of its organs (e.g. the brain)) for action

to purify (sewage) by aeration

US military to create, mobilize, or organize (a unit)

Derived Formsactivation, nounactivator, noun

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

Word Origin and History for activate

1620s; see active + -ate (2). Related: Activated; activating.