magnetize

[ mag-ni-tahyz ]

/ ˈmæg nɪˌtaɪz /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR magnetize ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), mag·net·ized, mag·net·iz·ing.

to make a magnet of or impart the properties of a magnet to.

to exert an attracting or compelling influence upon: The evangelist's oratory magnetized his listeners.

Archaic. to mesmerize.

Nearby words

magnetics, magnetism, magnetite, magnetizable, magnetization, magnetize, magnetizing force, magneto, magneto-, magnetoacoustics, magnetocaloric effect

Also especially British, mag·ne·tise.

Origin of magnetize

First recorded in 1775–85; magnet + -ize

Related forms

mag·net·iz·er, nounnon·mag·net·ized, adjectivere·mag·net·ize, verb (used with object), re·mag·net·ized, re·mag·net·iz·ing.un·mag·net·ized, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for magnetize

To magnetize the iron we must force some of these atomic loops to turn part way around.
Letters of a Radio-Engineer to His Son|John Mills
A similar phenomenon takes place if we magnetize a rod held vertically in the direction of earth's magnetism.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 392, July 7, 1883|Various
Magnetize your body by walking thru the dew barefooted, by sleeping on the grass, or half buried in the sand.
Supreme Personality|Delmer Eugene Croft
Or rather, you must magnetize him many times to get him en rapport with a jest.
The Wit and Humor of America, Volume VIII (of X)|Various

She asked again for my hand which she had rejected, and, while holding it, attempted to magnetize the sufferer.
Life Without and Life Within|Margaret Fuller

British Dictionary definitions for magnetize

magnetize

magnetise

/ (ˈmæɡnɪˌtaɪz) /

verb (tr)

to make (a substance or object) magnetic

to attract strongly

an obsolete word for mesmerize

Derived Forms

magnetizable or magnetisable, adjectivemagnetization or magnetisation, nounmagnetizer or magnetiser, 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

Science definitions for magnetize

magnetize

[ măg′nĭ-tīz′ ]

To cause an object to become temporarily or permanently magnetic. For example, an unmagnetized object made of ferromagnetic material consists of molecules that are magnetic but randomly aligned, producing no net magnetic field; exposure to a magnetic field causes the molecules to align themselves with the field, producing their own net field, so that the object as a whole becomes magnetized.