GALVANISE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does galvanise mean? 

• GALVANISE (verb)
  The verb GALVANISE has 3 senses:

1. to stimulate to action

2. cover with zinc

3. stimulate (muscles) by administering a shock

  Familiarity information: GALVANISE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GALVANISE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they galvanise    ... he / she / it galvanises   
Past simple: galvanised   
Past participle: galvanised   
-ing form: galvanising   

Sense 1

Meaning:

To stimulate to action

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

galvanise; galvanize; startle

Context example:

galvanized into action

Hypernyms (to "galvanise" is one way to...):

ball over; blow out of the water; floor; shock; take aback (surprise greatly; knock someone's socks off)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody into V-ing something

Derivation:

galvanisation (stimulation that arouses a person to lively action)

galvaniser (a leader who stimulates and excites people to action)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Cover with zinc

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

galvanise; galvanize

Context example:

galvanize steel

Hypernyms (to "galvanise" is one way to...):

coat; surface (put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

galvanisation (either the work of covering with metal by the use of a galvanic current or the coating of iron with zinc to protect it from rusting)

galvaniser (a leader who stimulates and excites people to action)

galvaniser (a skilled worker who coats iron or steel with zinc)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Stimulate (muscles) by administering a shock

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Synonyms:

galvanise; galvanize

Hypernyms (to "galvanise" is one way to...):

shock (subject to electrical shocks)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

galvanisation (stimulation with a galvanic current)

galvanism (the therapeutic application of electricity to the body (as in the treatment of various forms of paralysis))

 Context examples 

Sherlock Holmes sprang out of his chair as if he had been galvanised.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Gosvami tells that much more work needs to be done to prove that the new method is superior to widely accepted methods of imparting corrosion resistance to steel such as galvanising with zinc or coating with conventionally used epoxy-based paints.

(Mango leaf extract can stop ships from rusting, SciDev.Net)