galvanize
verb
Did you know?
Luigi Galvani was an Italian physician and physicist who, in the 1770s, studied the electrical nature of nerve impulses by applying electrical stimulation to frogs’ leg muscles, causing them to contract. Although Galvani’s theory that animal tissue contained an innate electrical impulse was disproven, the French word galvanisme came to refer to a current of electricity especially when produced by chemical action, while the verb galvaniser was used for the action of applying such a current (both words were apparently coined by German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who modeled them after the French equivalents of magnetism and magnetize). In English, these words came to life as galvanism and galvanize, respectively. Today their primary senses are figurative: to galvanize a person or group is to spur them into action as if they’ve been jolted with electricity.
Examples of galvanize in a Sentence
Debbie Cenziper, CNN Money, 20 June 2025
Five years since 17-year-old Darnella Frazier stood outside Cup Foods, raised her phone and bore witness to nine minutes and 29 seconds that would galvanize a global movement against racial injustice.
—Allissa V. Richardson, The Conversation, 18 June 2025
His family’s investments in cryptocurrency, including allegations of corrupt self-dealing, galvanized most Democrats to oppose the bill.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 17 June 2025
Democrats point to a slew of special election victories that have taken place within the first months of Trump’s second administration as evidence the party is already hitting back and galvanizing against the administration.
—Julia Manchester, The Hill, 15 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for galvanize
Cite this Entry
“Galvanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/galvanize. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
galvanize
verb
Medical Definition
galvanize
transitive verb
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