electrify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to charge with or subject to electricity; apply electricity to.
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to supply (a region, community, etc.) with electric power.
The valley wasn't electrified until 1936.
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to equip for the use of electric power, as a railroad.
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to excite greatly; thrill.
to electrify an audience.
verb
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to adapt or equip (a system, device, etc) for operation by electrical power
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to charge with or subject to electricity
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to startle or excite intensely; shock or thrill
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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electrificationnoun
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electrifiernoun
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nonelectrificationnoun
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reelectrificationnoun
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reelectrifyverb (used with object)
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electrifiableadjective
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nonelectrifiedadjective
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proelectrificationadjective
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unelectrifiedadjective
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unelectrifyingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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electrifysimple
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electrifiessimple
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have electrifiedperfect
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has electrifiedperfect
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am electrifyingprogressive
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are electrifyingprogressive
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is electrifyingprogressive
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have been electrifyingperfect progressive
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has been electrifyingperfect progressive
Past
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electrifiedsimple
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had electrifiedperfect
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was electrifyingprogressive
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were electrifyingprogressive
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had been electrifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of electrify
Explanation
Electrify means to make something electric — either literally or figuratively. You can electrify a house by wiring it so the occupants will have lights, or you can electrify a boring party by getting everyone laughing. A captivating person might electrify every room she enters. Maybe it’s her laugh, maybe it’s the way she talks with her hands, maybe it’s the zany scarves she wears. Something about her gets everyone going. In a related sense, electrify can also describe what the electrician does to a house — she wires it so that the lights, computers, and television can all be plugged in and operate properly.
Vocabulary lists containing electrify
"The Civil Rights Movement"
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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.
See Examples For:
"The major task ahead of us is to electrify all natural gas applications," Andreas Gahl, head of the firm with 145 employees in the western Sauerland region, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Complex emissions challenges, like how to electrify industrial processes, aren’t solved by falling solar-panel prices, but they become an easier lift.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
The medium- and heavy-duty segment, in particular, had already greatly consolidated as automakers have struggled to electrify — and monetize — delivery vans, buses and big rigs in the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
Layers of silent tension electrify the air throughout these early hours.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2026
“We can electrify that whole strip of floor,” bawled the Director in explanation.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Death hangs over the record and there are many references to the steady march of time, but for Ms. Orton the inevitability of the end electrifies the present.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Electrospinning is a technique which electrifies droplets of liquid to form fibres from plastics.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2024
Japanese British pop dynamo Rina Sawayama electrifies the crowd at Elton’s party with her artful mash-up of rock, electro-pop, nu-metal and even some country pop.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
Lunez already electrifies a number of prestige cars from the bygone days of motoring, including Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Jaguar sportscar models.
From Reuters ● Oct. 8, 2021
Mittelstaedt has some news ready for me that electrifies me on the spot.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
It said that 52 percent of its passenger car sales in Europe are now electrified vehicles -- fully electric, plug-in hybrids and non-plug-in hybrids -- up from 43.8 percent in the first half of 2025.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
She sauntered on the stage with electrified green and purple hair and Vivienne Westwood-style chic to perform a cover of the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Platner’s working-class message that electrified Maine voters and garnered him national attention is not exclusive to him — or to Maine.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
The figures included a 19.5 percent increase in "electrified" vehicles, which at Toyota includes hybrid options.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Jutta sits with the girls at the opposite end, her hair frizzed and snarled and bright white, so she looks as if she has been electrified.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
Following an electrifying opening performance from T.I., the evening’s host, comedian and internet sensation Druski, descended onto the stage suspended from the ceiling, a nod to his viral “flying pastor” sketch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Their star is none other than the 18-year-old Lamine Yamal, soccer’s most electrifying teenager.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
"Any attempt to water down these targets could send warning signals to these investors about the government's long-term commitment to electrifying our transport network," he added.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Through half a century of creature features, epic disasters, sprawling adventures, quirky character studies and electrifying political thrillers, Spielberg has maintained his hope.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
But at that moment we heard Mrs. Croft’s electrifying voice rising up the stairs.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
