irradiate

American  

[ih-rey-dee-eyt, ih-rey-dee-it, -eyt] / ɪˈreɪ diˌeɪt, ɪˈreɪ di ɪt, -ˌeɪt /

verb (used with object)

irradiated, irradiating

1. to shed rays of light upon; illuminate.

2. to illumine intellectually or spiritually.

3. to brighten as if with light.

4. to radiate (light, illumination, etc.).

5. to heat with radiant energy.

6. to treat by exposure to radiation, as of ultraviolet light.

7. to expose to radiation.

---

verb (used without object)

irradiated, irradiating

1. Archaic.

   1. to emit rays; shine.

   2. to become radiant.

adjective

1. irradiated; bright.

irradiate British  

/ ɪˈreɪdɪˌeɪt /

verb

1. (tr) physics to subject to or treat with light or other electromagnetic radiation or with beams of particles

2. (tr) to expose (food) to electromagnetic radiation to kill bacteria and retard deterioration

3. (tr) to make clear or bright intellectually or spiritually; illumine

4. a less common word for radiate

5. obsolete (intr) to become radiant

---

irradiate Scientific  

/ ĭ-rā′dē-āt′ /

1. To expose to or treat with radiation. For example, meat sold as food is often irradiated with x-rays or other radiation to kill bacteria; uranium 238 can be irradiated with neutrons to create fissionable plutonium 239.

---

Other Word Forms

• irradiatingly adverb
• irradiative adjective
• irradiator noun
• nonirradiated adjective
• unirradiated adjective
• unirradiative adjective

Etymology

Origin of irradiate

1595–1605; < Latin irradiātus, past participle of irradiāre to shine upon. See ir- ¹, radiate

Example Sentences

Instead of using cobalt or other radioactive materials, Wilson’s team uses an X-ray machine to irradiate the pests.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2024

As soon as the salts in the liquid have accumulated to a significant degree, the researchers irradiate the liquid with light.

From Science Daily • Jan. 12, 2024

Inexplicable fires first obliterate Japanese freighters and irradiate fish, a ripped-from-the-headlines echo of the Lucky Dragon No. 5 incident—a Japanese tuna ship showered in radioactive fallout from the Castle Bravo thermonuclear test at Bikini Atoll.

From Scientific American • Nov. 3, 2023

According to the NRC, embrittlement occurs as a result of reactor operation when neutrons from the nuclear fuel irradiate the steel plates and welds used to construct the reactor vessel.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 14, 2023

Fie continued to provide Segre with metal scraps and even acceded to Segre’s request to irradiate a quantity of uranium oxide mailed from Italy so that he could continue searching for nuclear reactions.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik