Activate
What it means
To put a system, process, or capacity into its working state.
Reach for it when describing the specific action that makes something begin operating
A pressure drop will activate the building's reserve pump.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday | |
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| literary |
-
everyday
start
Fits when you simply mean beginning operation
Careful Start misses the idea of enabling a previously inactive function.
-
everyday
switch on
Fits when a person directly turns on a device
Careful Automatic or chemical processes are rarely switched on.
-
warm
Fits when new energy or enthusiasm is brought to people or work
Careful Energize is imprecise for a coded security function.
-
professional
Fits when a feature becomes available for later use
Careful Enabled equipment may remain idle until separately activated.
-
professional
trigger
Fits when one event causes an immediate response
Careful Trigger emphasizes causation and can suggest an unintended reaction.
-
literary
set in motion
Fits when you want to stress the beginning of a larger sequence
Careful This phrase is cumbersome for pressing one button.
Opposites 3
- deactivate
- disable
- halt
Common phrases 3
-
activate a feature
Administrators can activate a feature after the privacy review.
-
activate the alarm
Smoke near either sensor will activate the alarm.
-
activate automatically
The pathway lights activate automatically at dusk.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated