Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To stimulate or shock with an electric current.
- v. To arouse to awareness or action; spur: "Issues that once galvanized the electorate fade into irrelevance” ( Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.)
- v. To coat (iron or steel) with rust-resistant zinc.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To subject to the action of an electric or galvanic current, as in medicine. The word is especially used of the act of restoring to consciousness by electrical action, as from a state of suspended animation; or of electrical restoration to a semblance of life, as a corpse or a severed part of the body.
- Hence To confer a fictitious vitality upon; give a mechanical semblance of life or vitality to.
- To plate, as with gold, silver, or other metal, by means of galvanic electricity; electroplate. Also spelled galvanise.
Wiktionary
- v. To coat with a thin layer of metal by electrochemical means; to electroplate.
- v. To coat with rust-resistant zinc
- v. To shock or stimulate into sudden activity
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To affect with galvanism; to subject to the action of electrical currents.
- v. To plate, as with gold, silver, etc., by means of electricity.
- v. To restore to consciousness by galvanic action (as from a state of suspended animation); hence, to stimulate or excite to a factitious animation or activity.
- v. To coat, as iron, with zinc. See Galvanized iron.
WordNet 3.0
- v. cover with zinc
- v. to stimulate to action
- v. stimulate (muscles) by administering a shock
Examples
“Perhaps SIV was waiting for some event or announcement to once again galvanize people into marching.”
“Chief Warren Riley and Mayor Ray Nagins call for residents to galvanize is an insult.”
“UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I am not so much worried as I am excited about by the whole drama of this, and I think in one way it is good for the country because it brings a lot of people and focuses their attention on this, and helps kind of galvanize the whole youth and the rest of ...”
“While the administration aimed to "galvanize" entrepreneurs from Muslim-majority countries, these Muslim upstarts shied away from pigeon-holing into a religious or ethnic category.”
“As opponents of big government converged on what has been billed as the first national tea party convention, organizers hoped the event would further "galvanize" the populist movement and help it gather momentum after a string of recent conservative electoral victories.”
“Tea Party convention starting Feb. 4 in Nashville, Tenn., organizers hope the event will "galvanize" the populist movement and help it gather momentum after a string of recent conservative electoral victories.”
“WE CAN'T REVEAL WHO we heard is coming to KL for a show but let's just say that if you're into "block rockin 'beats", there's a hot international duo rumoured to possibly "galvanize" the whole concert scene in Malaysia.”
“galvanize" the global community in its efforts to fight the disease.”
“galvanize" also means to cover metal with zinc or a zinc alloy to protect from rust (as in galvanized carpentry nails).”
“Reid has claimed publicly that Bethel “touches the lives” of some 100,000 Baltimoreans, and city officials take notice of his apparent ability to galvanize his flock behind any chosen candidate or issue.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘galvanize’.
-
GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
-
Confusually
???????????????????
baffle, farrago, confound, befuddle, daze, disorient, discombobulate, stupefy, perplex, mystify, bewilder, boggle and 134 more...
-
excite
thrill, exhilarate, spark, excite, galvanize, hype, neuromarketing, mesmerise, ballyhoo, showmanship, inspire, effusive and 2 more...
quandary In the usage examples I didn't see the construction "galvanize into" (as in "galvanize into action"), but this seems common. Nov 21, 2009
rolig This word derives from the name of the Italian physician/physicist Luigi Galvani (1734–1798), whose research into the effect of electricity applied to dead frog muscles was one of the inspirations of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Dec 4, 2007
seanahan This word is actually an eponym. It belongs on a number of lists. Nov 13, 2007