magnetize

[mag-ni-tahyz]

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.

Also especially British, mag·ne·tise.

Origin of magnetize

First recorded in 1775–85; magnet + -ize

Related formsmag·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

Related Words for magnetize

draw, fascinate, influence, allure, charm, entice, attract

Examples from the Web for magnetize

Historical Examples of magnetize

Put a vision in front of one of these currents and you can magnetize it in that direction.
A Preface to Politics
Walter Lippmann
Then magnetize the needle, and keep the magnetoscope in your book.
Physics
Willis Eugene Tower
(B) Magnetize the needle so that its point will be a N pole.
The Study of Elementary Electricity and Magnetism by Experiment
Thomas M. St. John
Men had wondered how an electrical discharge could magnetize steel.
The Story of Great Inventions
Elmer Ellsworth Burns
Thus you can magnetize the needle by using the other needle.
Electricity for the 4-H Scientist
Eric B. Wilson

British Dictionary definitions for magnetize

magnetize

magnetise

verb (tr)

to make (a substance or object) magnetic

to attract strongly

an obsolete word for mesmerize

Derived Formsmagnetizable 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

Word Origin and History for magnetize

1799, from magnet + -ize. Related: Magnetized; magnetizing. From 1785 in now-obsolete sense of "to mesmerize."

magnetize in Science

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.