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☢️ To use radiation 💡 To shine light ✨ To inspire
to irradiate

to irradiate

1 7.8
To shine light on something to make it visible
  • verb
  • /ɪˈreɪdiˌeɪt/
translation icon : iluminar
  • As the torch irradiated the room, the shadows danced on the walls.
  • irradiated with ultraviolet light

Or the sun will essentially irradiate Earth as it expands, because what happens with the dying sun is it gets very large.

Examples

  • Then Hendricks, a notable mountain climber, took the sample cell and climbed up on the lab bench to hold the sample close to a fluorescent light to irradiate it with red light.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Then they irradiated the sample with a light masked to block the red light waves, but not the far red.

    Academic text (2001)

  • If you would take a sample and you would irradiate it with light and you would begin with light with very low frequency, nothing would happen.

  • As I looked at this, someone or something said to me: "That is beautiful," and immediately the whole scene lit up as though a bright light had been turned on, irradiating everything.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Hendricks also came up with an elegant solution to overcome a major equipment problem: finding a light powerful enough to irradiate the plants as they grew.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Light irradiates the darkness.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The kitchen glows luridly, irradiated by some source of light beyond the uncurtained window.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • The technique consists of irradiating the bite mark with a UV light source and exposing a B&W film through a UVA filter.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The sunlight irradiates the garden, making the flowers bloom vibrantly.

  • During the experiment, they used a laser to irradiate the samples with precise beams of light.

Synonyms

to light
vsto irradiate
905 1.0

To make something start to burn or shine

refers specifically to shining rays rather than causing ignition or flame
to shine
vsto irradiate
114 1.0

To point a light at something so you can see it

is about casting rays broadly rather than merely aiming a beam
to light up
vsto irradiate
64 2.5

Begin to shine or make something begin to shine, for example by burning

is limited to casting rays rather than causing burning
to illuminate
vsto irradiate
52 4.1

To make something bright or visible with light

is the more technical term for the same act of casting rays

Antonyms

to darken
63 3.3

Make or become less bright, for example a room

How Bright

to illuminate
52 4.1
to irradiate
1 7.8
to shine
114 1.0

Surface Forms

irradiate infinitive
irradiated past
irradiated past participle
irradiating present participle
irradiates third person singular

Morphology

irradiate = radiate (transparent) = ir + radiate

The sense 'to shine light on' is a direct application of 'radiate' with the 'ir-' prefix; the composition is literal and predictable.

Etymology

Irradiate comes from Latin parts in- 'into' and radiare 'to shine', the same root as radiant and the word 'ray'. So to irradiate can simply mean to 'shine rays on' something, which explains its use for lighting a painting or a stage.