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Glite Dictionary
🔛 To start working 🧪 To increase power ☢️ To make radioactive 💧 To treat sewage
to activate

to activate

7 5.5
To make a material better at trapping impurities
  • verb
  • /ˈæktɪˌveɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : activar
  • The mechanism by which activated carbon selectively removes volatile species from cigarette smoke is well established.
  • activated carbon
  • activated charcoal
  • activated carbon filter

Examples

  • For example, the Remival company uses activated carbon in its incineration plant in Reims for that purpose.

    Academic text (2000)

  • It also works to activate the so-called AM PK pathway.

  • So we have a saltwater-activated battery.

    Phantom (2013)

  • In the shower, I use a water-activated gel cleanser.

    American Psycho (2000)

  • The effect of treatment time seemed to be insignificant with the activated sludge addition treatment.

    Academic text (1993)

  • The enterprise manufactured activated carbon and carbon filters and was in the process of being privatized.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Approximately 5 g of activated copper powder was added to each sub-sample prior to extraction.

    Academic text (2000)

  • So when you change that ratio, you activate a kinase called AMP kinase.

  • For municipal wastewater treatment plants, they offer applications ranging from return activated sludge to storm water pumping.

    Academic text (1996)

  • The researchers decided to activate the charcoal with steam to enhance its filtering ability.

Antonyms

to deactivate
63 3.9

To make a device, system, or account stop working

How Reactive

to react
  • Specialized
47 3.7
to activate
  • Specialized
7 5.5
to passivate
  • Specialized
8.7
to stabilize
  • US
197 3.7

Surface Forms

activate infinitive
activated past
activated past participle
activating present participle
activates third person singular

Morphology

activate = active (semi-transparent) = active + ate

The chemical sense ('increase adsorptive power') is a domain-specific instantiation of 'make active', so partially predictable but specialized.

Etymology

Activate comes from the root act, which means 'do' or 'be active', and you can see this in active and action. To activate a substance like charcoal is to make it more 'active' so it can better trap or hold impurities.