innervate
verb
in·ner·vate
i-ˈnər-ˌvāt 
ˈi-(ˌ)nər-
ˈi-(ˌ)nər-
innervated; innervating
: to supply with nerves
Note: Do not confuse innervate with enervate, which typically means "to lessen the vitality or strength of."
Examples of innervate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In a 2023 study, Ginty’s team showed that these same touch neurons also innervate the colon (opens a new tab), where their axons branch and curl around motor neurons in the gut, enabling us to sense bowel distention.
—
Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
After a very strong start to her campaign that included packed rallies and innervating stump speeches, Harris mostly regressed back to the ultimately unknowable candidate whom Democratic voters rejected back in 2019.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
As new neighborhoods pop up, the desert is innervated by endless black roads.
—The Arizona Republic, 27 July 2023
The SetPoint implant is inserted beside the patient’s vagus nerve, which travels down from the brain to innervate the spleen and other vital organs.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Dec. 2022
For centuries, fad diets have preyed on those who've been brutalized by feminine beauty standards, and Johnson is breaking tradition with an ascetic set of rules designed to innervate a more masculine insecurity.
—Luke Winkie, Bon Appétit, 31 Aug. 2022
Different bundles innervate different muscle groups, allowing the potential for fairly precise control.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 8 Feb. 2022
The mandibular nerve passes through this opening to innervate the teeth, gums and chin.
—David W. Frayer, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2022
Instead of balling up, the nerves innervated the muscle tissue, which greatly amplified their electrical signal.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 4 Mar. 2020
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Ariel Bleicher, Quanta Magazine, 16 Apr. 2025
After a very strong start to her campaign that included packed rallies and innervating stump speeches, Harris mostly regressed back to the ultimately unknowable candidate whom Democratic voters rejected back in 2019.
—Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
As new neighborhoods pop up, the desert is innervated by endless black roads.
—The Arizona Republic, 27 July 2023
The SetPoint implant is inserted beside the patient’s vagus nerve, which travels down from the brain to innervate the spleen and other vital organs.
—IEEE Spectrum, 26 Dec. 2022
For centuries, fad diets have preyed on those who've been brutalized by feminine beauty standards, and Johnson is breaking tradition with an ascetic set of rules designed to innervate a more masculine insecurity.
—Luke Winkie, Bon Appétit, 31 Aug. 2022
Different bundles innervate different muscle groups, allowing the potential for fairly precise control.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 8 Feb. 2022
The mandibular nerve passes through this opening to innervate the teeth, gums and chin.
—David W. Frayer, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2022
Instead of balling up, the nerves innervated the muscle tissue, which greatly amplified their electrical signal.
—Matt Simon, Wired, 4 Mar. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Innervate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innervate. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
innervate
transitive verb
in·ner·vate
in-ˈər-ˌvāt, ˈin-(ˌ)ər-
innervated; innervating
1
: to supply with nerves
2
: to arouse or stimulate (a nerve or an organ) to activity
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