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activate

verb

Simple meaning

To put a device, mechanism or system into action or motion.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

aktuhvayt

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈæktəveɪt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. transitive

    To put a device, mechanism (alarm etc.) or system into action or motion; to trigger, to actuate, to set off, to enable.

  2. transitive

    To encourage development or induce increased activity; to stimulate.

  3. Aerate (sewage) so as to favor the growth of organisms that decompose organic matter

  4. transitive

    To aerate in order to aid decomposition of organic matter.

  5. Make (substances) radioactive

  6. transitivecomputingsoftware

    To remove the limitations of demoware by providing a license; to unlock.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Varies by meaning

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To put a device, mechanism (alarm etc.) or system into action or motion; to trigger, to actuate, to set off, to enable.

'Activate' means to turn something on or start its operation. It's often used for systems or devices, implying a specific trigger. It feels more formal than 'turn on,' and more proactive than 'enable.'

Emotional tone
Negative
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Gentle
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Serious and weighty
Usage feel
Everyday but emotionally strong

Where you'll really hear it

  • Device instructions

    “Press this button to activate the alarm system.”

  • Software prompt

    “Enter your license key to activate the premium features.”

  • Emergency services

    “The emergency beacon will activate upon impact.”

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use activate

  • “You need to activate your new credit card before using it.”

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

activate transcriptionactivate complementdirectly activate

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

  • activatingnounInflected form

    The activity of causing to have energy and be active.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • activatornounPerson or profession · specialist

    Any agency bringing about activation.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • activating agentnounCompound term

    A surface-active chemical used in flotation process to increase the attraction to a specific mineral.

  • activated charcoalnounCompound term

    Powdered or granular carbon used for purifying by adsorption.

  • activated carbonnounCompound term

    Powdered or granular carbon used for purifying by adsorption.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Antonyms

Sense: to put a device or mechanism (alarm etc.)

inactivate

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.