ionize

verb

ion·​ize ˈī-ə-ˌnīz 

ionized; ionizing

transitive verb

: to convert wholly or partly into ions

intransitive verb

: to become ionized

ionizable

ˈī-ə-ˌnī-zə-bəl 

adjective

ionizer

ˈī-ə-ˌnī-zər 

noun

Examples of ionize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This light also ionizes nearby gas, creating glowing regions called emission nebulae, also part of NGC 6729. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 17 July 2026

Google also performed experiments with its V6e Trillium TPU compute tray and found that, over time, ionizing radiation can cause device failures. — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 15 July 2026

At high doses, ionizing radiation damages DNA and causes cancer. — Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 10 July 2026

One of the biggest concerns is that someone with an incidental finding may then have follow-up computed tomography scans, as well as ionizing radiation and biopsy complications, searching for something that never would have caused symptoms. — Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

ion + -ize, after German ionisiren (now ionisieren) or French ioniser

First Known Use

1898, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for ionize

• advise
• applies
• apprise
• arise
• assize
• baptize
• belies
• bitwise
• capsize
• chastise
• chordwise
• clockwise

Kids Definition

ionize

verb

ion·​ize ˈī-ə-ˌnīz 

ionized; ionizing

1

: to convert wholly or partly into ions

2

: to become ionized

ionizable

-ˌnī-zə-bəl 

adjective

ionization

ˌī-ə-nə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

ionizer

ˈī-ə-ˌnī-zər 

noun

Medical Definition

ionize

verb

ion·​ize

variants or chiefly British ionise

ˈī-ə-ˌnīz 

ionized or chiefly British ionised; ionizing or chiefly British ionising

transitive verb

: to convert wholly or partly into ions

intransitive verb

: to become ionized

ionizable adjective

or chiefly British ionisable

-ˌnī-zə-bəl 

ionization noun

or chiefly British ionisation

ˌī-ə-nə-ˈzā-shən