electrify
Americanverb (used with object)
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electrifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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electrified,
past participle, past
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electrifying
present participle
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to charge with or subject to electricity; apply electricity to.
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to supply (a region, community, etc.) with electric power.
The valley wasn't electrified until 1936.
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to equip for the use of electric power, as a railroad.
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to excite greatly; thrill.
to electrify an audience.
verb
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to adapt or equip (a system, device, etc) for operation by electrical power
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to charge with or subject to electricity
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to startle or excite intensely; shock or thrill
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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electrificationnoun
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electrifiernoun
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nonelectrificationnoun
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reelectrificationnoun
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reelectrifyverb (used with object)
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electrifiableadjective
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nonelectrifiedadjective
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proelectrificationadjective
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unelectrifiedadjective
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unelectrifyingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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electrifysimple
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electrifiessimple
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have electrifiedperfect
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has electrifiedperfect
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am electrifyingprogressive
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are electrifyingprogressive
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is electrifyingprogressive
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have been electrifyingperfect progressive
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has been electrifyingperfect progressive
Past
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electrifiedsimple
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had electrifiedperfect
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was electrifyingprogressive
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were electrifyingprogressive
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had been electrifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of electrify
Explanation
Electrify means to make something electric — either literally or figuratively. You can electrify a house by wiring it so the occupants will have lights, or you can electrify a boring party by getting everyone laughing. A captivating person might electrify every room she enters. Maybe it’s her laugh, maybe it’s the way she talks with her hands, maybe it’s the zany scarves she wears. Something about her gets everyone going. In a related sense, electrify can also describe what the electrician does to a house — she wires it so that the lights, computers, and television can all be plugged in and operate properly.
Vocabulary lists containing electrify
"The Civil Rights Movement"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Permian producers have suffered from a lack of pipelines to ship and sell natural gas, and they are eager to provide the fuel to electrify tech companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Meanwhile, there’s a growing business case for companies in Europe to electrify their industrial heat, according to a recent report from McKinsey—particularly as fossil fuel prices remain volatile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Lawmakers are also moving this year to boost heat pump adoption — proposing to streamline permitting, and make it easier to electrify homes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
Beta Technologies rallied 22% after Amazon.com disclosed a stake in the aerospace start-up, which is working to electrify aircrafts.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
When news came that the boy’s village was to be flooded to make a mighty lake and dam to electrify Ghana, it seemed like a crazy rumor, but it would not go away.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Death hangs over the record and there are many references to the steady march of time, but for Ms. Orton the inevitability of the end electrifies the present.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Electrospinning is a technique which electrifies droplets of liquid to form fibres from plastics.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2024
The man himself, son of a sea captain, is an instinctive, charismatic politician who electrifies the campaign trail thanks to a natural bond with admiring masses across Anatolia.
From Reuters ● May 12, 2023
Nothing electrifies an NHL crowd like a penalty shot.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2022
The honesty electrifies Helmuth, the way the British announce their own losses to the Germans.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Utilities have known for decades that unused lines can become energized from nearby electrified equipment through the induction process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
It said that 52 percent of its passenger car sales in Europe are now electrified vehicles -- fully electric, plug-in hybrids and non-plug-in hybrids -- up from 43.8 percent in the first half of 2025.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
She sauntered on the stage with electrified green and purple hair and Vivienne Westwood-style chic to perform a cover of the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Platner’s working-class message that electrified Maine voters and garnered him national attention is not exclusive to him — or to Maine.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
I’m wide awake and still kind of electrified from the party.
From "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli
The 21-year-old Filipino has been electrifying the women’s side, recently winning the D.C.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Sunil, 27, who came to the protest site for the first time on Saturday to "experience the atmosphere", said it was "truly electrifying, especially after the minister's resignation".
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
“In the Mouth of Madness” ponders just how powerful media — and our relationship to it — can be, and Neill gives an electrifying turn as a man caught up in a myth made real.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Following an electrifying opening performance from T.I., the evening’s host, comedian and internet sensation Druski, descended onto the stage suspended from the ceiling, a nod to his viral “flying pastor” sketch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
Taken by his rousing speaking style and electrifying presence, Garrison immediately enlisted Douglass as a lecturer.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
