activate

[ ak-tuh-veyt ]

/ ˈæk təˌveɪt /

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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.

Nearby words

Origin of activate

First recorded in 1620–30; active + -ate¹

SYNONYMS FOR activate

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

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ANTONYMS FOR activate

1. stop, halt, check.

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Related forms

ac·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

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|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.
Perry: King of the Know-Nothings|Michael Tomasky|August 19, 2011|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
We could press the button to activate the exercise mechanisms in our bunks.
Perfect Control|Richard Stockham
He had not the slightest idea of how to activate the machines, let alone broadcast in the proper code.
Storm Over Warlock|Andre Norton
This warmth was sufficient to activate most of the five-lined skinks, and a few reptiles of other kinds.
Life History and Ecology of the Five-lined Skink, Eumeces fasciatus|Henry S. Fitch
I shall now activate the mechanism—by placing the cube on the platform—at exactly three o'clock.
Two Timer|Fredric Brown
We contend with it so as to remove it and, at the same time, activate the spiritual nature.
An Interpretation of Friends Worship|N. Jean Toomer

British Dictionary definitions for activate

activate

/ (ˈæktɪˌveɪt) /

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