Link Centre Dictionary

galvanize

gal·va·nize

UK/ˈɡælvənaɪ̯z/ US/ˈɡælvʌˌnaɪz/ uncommon archaic dated us

verb

1.

to stimulate to action

  • “..startled him awake”
  • “galvanized into action”
Synonyms
2.

cover with zinc

  • “galvanize steel”
Synonyms
3.

stimulate (muscles) by administering a shock

Synonyms

Origin

Learned borrowing from French galvaniser. By surface analysis, galvano- + -ize. Named after Italian physiologist Luigi Aloisio Galvani (1737-1798).

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.