irradiate

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ɪˈreɪdiˌeɪt/ UK /ɪˈreɪdieɪt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to expose to or shine with radiant light or radiation

Engineers irradiate the produce to kill bacteria and extend its shelf life.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to expose to or shine with... illuminate light brighten radiate shine illumine

Opposites

darken shade

Word family

Derived forms irradiationirradiatorirradiant

Related forms radiate radiant radiation

Etymology

From Latin irradiatus, past participle of irradiare 'to shine upon', from in- 'into, upon' plus radiare 'to emit rays', from radius 'ray, beam'.

irradiare Latin radius Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# irradiate

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ɪˈreɪdiˌeɪt/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪˈreɪdieɪt/

## Meanings
1. to expose to or shine with radiant light or radiation

## Examples
- Engineers irradiate the produce to kill bacteria and extend its shelf life.

## Synonyms
- illuminate
- light
- brighten
- radiate
- shine
- illumine

## Antonyms
- darken
- shade

## Derived Forms
- irradiation
- irradiator
- irradiant

## Related Forms
- radiate
- radiant
- radiation

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: irradiare
- Root: radius

## Etymology
From Latin irradiatus, past participle of irradiare 'to shine upon', from in- 'into, upon' plus radiare 'to emit rays', from radius 'ray, beam'.

## AI Etymology
irradiate comes from Latin irradiatus, past participle of irradiare 'to shine upon', from in- 'into, upon' plus radiare 'to emit rays', from radius 'ray, beam'. Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the verb sense is "to expose to or shine with radiant light or radiation", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as radiate, radiant, and radiation, and in derivatives such as irradiation, irradiator, and irradiant. Its semantic neighborhood includes illuminate, light, brighten, and radiate, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin irradiare and Latin radius.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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