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definitions

electrify

[ih-lek-truh-fahy]
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verb (used with object), e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing.
  1. to charge with or subject to electricity; apply electricity to.
  2. to supply (a region, community, etc.) with electric power: The valley wasn't electrified until 1936.
  3. to equip for the use of electric power, as a railroad.
  4. to excite greatly; thrill: to electrify an audience.

Origin of electrify

First recorded in 1735–45; electr- + -ify
Related formse·lec·tri·fi·ca·tion, noune·lec·tri·fi·er, nounnon·e·lec·tri·fi·ca·tion, nounnon·e·lec·tri·fied, adjectivepro·e·lec·tri·fi·ca·tion, adjectivere·e·lec·tri·fi·ca·tion, nounre·e·lec·tri·fy, verb (used with object), re·e·lec·tri·fied, re·e·lec·tri·fy·ing.un·e·lec·tri·fied, adjectiveun·e·lec·tri·fy·ing, adjective

Synonyms for electrify

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4. stir, rouse, dazzle.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for electrify

disturb, energize, invigorate, stir, excite, astound, jolt, amaze, startle, astonish, galvanize, animate, rouse, stun, power, fire, shock, jar, stagger, send

Examples from the Web for electrify

Historical Examples of electrify

  • You won't be left in hiding after such a dbut; you'll electrify society!

  • We will dynamite them afterwards, and electrify them last of all.

    The Giant of the North

    R.M. Ballantyne

  • Now for a call upon my guest, to electrify him with my news.

    Little Nobody

    Mrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller

  • The speech must electrify the public, even as it was then electrifying the House.

  • How may it electrify the soul, and suspend all its functions!

    Thoughts on Man

    William Godwin

British Dictionary definitions for electrify

electrify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)
  1. to adapt or equip (a system, device, etc) for operation by electrical power
  2. to charge with or subject to electricity
  3. to startle or excite intensely; shock or thrill
Derived Formselectrifiable, adjectiveelectrification, nounelectrifier, 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 electrify
v.

1745, "to charge with electricity;" see electric + -fy. Figurative sense recorded by 1752. Related: Electrified; electrifying.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper