electrify
Americanverb (used with object)
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electrifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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electrified,
past participle, past
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electrifying
present participle
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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:
Companies that make equipment to upgrade electricity grids are growing, too, because Europe needs to electrify its economy to reduce its reliance on imported energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
"If you electrify and you increase coal, then what are you doing?" veteran COP observer and E3G analyst Alden Meyer told AFP in Bonn.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
“There are hundreds of millions of smaller-than-car vehicles today that will, almost without debate, electrify over the next decade,” Yu said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
The trend is a reminder that, despite the breakneck growth of green electricity in China, the world’s factory still largely runs on polluting processes that are hard to electrify.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
We gonna electrify your senses and bombard your brain with the sounds that make you want to get down!
From "Tears of a Tiger" by Sharon M. Draper
As Beijing’s drive for technological dominance electrifies China’s AI scene, investors’ fear of missing out has pushed MiniMax’s market capitalization to over $40 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 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
The honesty electrifies Helmuth, the way the British announce their own losses to the Germans.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Utilities have known for decades that unused lines can become energized from nearby electrified equipment through the induction process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 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
The fingers grabbed at something that felt like a nerve; it electrified Nathan’s entire head.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Defiant and electrifying, it carries a surprising undercurrent of optimism - while songs like Trance State and Dancing with the Europeans rank among the band's best work.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
They must also be taking note of the breathing space China has given itself by electrifying its transport fleet and diversifying its energy sources.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Sunil, 27, who came to the protest site for the first time on Saturday to "experience the atmosphere", said it was "truly electrifying, especially after the minister's resignation".
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
“In the Mouth of Madness” ponders just how powerful media — and our relationship to it — can be, and Neill gives an electrifying turn as a man caught up in a myth made real.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Bob Presto was giving his spiel: “Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for a truly electrifying experience?”
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
