Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To induce polarization in or impart polarity to.
  • intransitive verb To design so as to permit light only of a certain polarization.
  • intransitive verb To cause to divide into two conflicting or opposing groups.
  • intransitive verb To acquire polarity.
  • intransitive verb To cause polarization of light or permit light of a certain polarization.
  • intransitive verb To become divided into two conflicting or opposing groups.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In electricity, to fall off in electromotive force, as a voltaic cell, by the liberation of hydrogen at the positive terminal.
  • To develop polarization in, as in a ray of light which is acted upon by certain media and surfaces; give polarity to. See polarization.
  • In electricity, to coat with a film of gas, as the negative plate in a voltaic cell. Also spelled polarise.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To communicate polarity to.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive, US To cause to have a polarization.
  • verb transitive, US To cause a group to be divided into extremes.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb become polarized in a conflict or contrasting situation
  • verb cause to vibrate in a definite pattern
  • verb cause to concentrate about two conflicting or contrasting positions

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Will Chinese society again polarize in a renewal of the class struggle?

    Trade with China 1978

  • O'BRIEN: Does that calculation, though, and does the fact that the primary system, the way it's set up, kind of polarize candidates on both sides?

    CNN Transcript Oct 13, 2006 2006

  • Yesterday Judge Wilkinson weighed in with a plea to the president not to "polarize" the Fourth Circuit.

    DownWithTyranny! 2009

  • The release also includes 200 preset one-click effects, including new favorites such as polarize, infrared, cross process, gradient, and other film and darkroom techniques. virtualPhotographer has been downloaded by millions of users worldwide. optikVerve Labs also released a new stand-alone full-featured photo editor - virtualStudio - that can run virtualPhotographer and other plug-in filters. virtualStudio was developed as a quick and easy alternative to using a complex imaging application each time a photographer wants to add artistic effects to a photo.

    The Photoshop Blog 2009

  • "polarize" the issue in Tompkins County, but to rather be a forum for stakeholders to express their views.

    theithacajournal.com - 2010

  • The Obama Downgrade The No-New-Taxes Democrats It is unclear whether the new GOP plan will further polarize the two sides or pave the way for a last-minute deal.

    House GOP to Vote on $2.4 Trillion in Cuts Naftali Bendavid 2011

  • It definitely is hard to be an anti-Zionist Jew as the Zionists have led a strategic and successful campaign to capture mainstream Jewish organizations, polarize their community, and marginalize secular non-Zionist Jewish voices.

    It’s Hard to Be an Anti-Zionist Jew « Antiwar.com Blog 2009

  • Our (predominantly) two-party political system has done more to polarize our country than anyone or anything else in history.

    Be an American: Tea-bag the White House. - Feministing 2009

  • The use of confederate symbolism as a signifier of southern pride is just as purposeful an effort to use that pride to polarize people into supporting disgusting, reactionary politics in 2010 as it was in 1956. theAmericanist says:

    Matthew Yglesias » Pro-Slavery 2010

  • It isn't clear if the plan will further polarize the two sides or pave the way for a deal.

    What's News: World-Wide 2011

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