Dictionary.com

passivate

[ pas-uh-veyt ]
/ ˈpæs əˌveɪt /

verb (used with object), pas·si·vat·ed, pas·si·vat·ing.Metallurgy.

to treat (a metal) to render the surface less reactive chemically.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
The Sunflower State
The Evergreen State
The Magnolia State
The Mockingbird State
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of passivate

First recorded in 1910–15; passive + -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM passivate

pas·si·va·tion, noun

Words nearby passivate

passion pit, passion play, Passion Sunday, Passiontide, Passion Week, passivate, passive, passive-aggressive, passive-aggressive personality, passive anaphylaxis, passive clot
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for passivate

passivate
/ (ˈpæsɪˌveɪt) /

verb

(tr) to render (a metal) less susceptible to corrosion by coating the surface with a substance, such as an oxide
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