as in triggers
to cause to function
the thermostat is set to activate the heating system only when the temperature drops below 65 degrees
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Recent Examples of activates
Meanwhile, neuroscientific studies demonstrate that musical engagement activates the brain’s reward system, enhancing motivation, emotional regulation, and memory formation.
—
Maria Williams, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
The former will, before a collision, pull passengers back into the best position to absorb the impact of a crash by tightening the belt, while the latter — which activates milliseconds after a collision occurs — allows the seat belt to gently unspool to relieve the force on that person’s chest.
—Jackie Charniga, Freep.com, 21 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, Mars’ shift into Scorpio on the 22nd activates your sector of money, values, and self-esteem for the next six weeks.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 21 Sep. 2025
The strange thing about this is that a completely different genetic program activates the exact same genes in roughly the same location during the formation of fin rays.
—John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
Track Testing the New Mustang GTD In full Track mode, the GTD hunkers down to lower the car’s center of gravity, while holding the traction control button on the GTD’s dash activates a Variable Traction Control mode on the gauge cluster.
—Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
When something stressful happens, the sympathetic nervous system activates to figure out how to respond; cortisol release is part of this response.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 17 Sep. 2025
The system, created by Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan, uses AI and sensors to detect when a crash is imminent and activates automatically if the plane is below 3,000 feet.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2025
Scientists found that hearing an infant in distress activates the autonomic nervous system—the body's unconscious control system for functions like breathing and digestion—causing our faces to literally get hotter.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Maria Williams, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025
The former will, before a collision, pull passengers back into the best position to absorb the impact of a crash by tightening the belt, while the latter — which activates milliseconds after a collision occurs — allows the seat belt to gently unspool to relieve the force on that person’s chest.
—Jackie Charniga, Freep.com, 21 Sep. 2025
Meanwhile, Mars’ shift into Scorpio on the 22nd activates your sector of money, values, and self-esteem for the next six weeks.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 21 Sep. 2025
The strange thing about this is that a completely different genetic program activates the exact same genes in roughly the same location during the formation of fin rays.
—John Timmer, ArsTechnica, 17 Sep. 2025
Track Testing the New Mustang GTD In full Track mode, the GTD hunkers down to lower the car’s center of gravity, while holding the traction control button on the GTD’s dash activates a Variable Traction Control mode on the gauge cluster.
—Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
When something stressful happens, the sympathetic nervous system activates to figure out how to respond; cortisol release is part of this response.
—Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 17 Sep. 2025
The system, created by Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan, uses AI and sensors to detect when a crash is imminent and activates automatically if the plane is below 3,000 feet.
—Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 16 Sep. 2025
Scientists found that hearing an infant in distress activates the autonomic nervous system—the body's unconscious control system for functions like breathing and digestion—causing our faces to literally get hotter.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for activates
Verb
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Sepsis develops when an infection triggers a harmful immune response.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
25 Sep. 2025
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The disease triggers nerve cells in parts of the brain to gradually break down and die, leading to uncontrolled movements, emotional or behavioral problems, and loss of cognition.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Dallas shooting sparks broader concerns over political violence The deadly shooting at the Dallas ICE facility has reignited national conversations about political violence, with some drawing parallels to the killing of Charlie Kirk and other recent high-profile attacks.—
Joshua Rhett Miller,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Sep. 2025
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Heat treatment sparks progress The battery showed excellent performance.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Time to turn the heater on as King Sport drives late into the first quarter.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
25 Sep. 2025
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Cadillac, Genesis, Lucid, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Polestar allowed for short loop test drives around Corktown and back.—
Keenan Thompson,
USA Today,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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These subsidies were cunning, part of a decades-long effort to keep alive the myths that offshore wind energy is nearly self-sufficient and generates increasingly inexpensive electricity.—
Craig Rucker,
Boston Herald,
26 Sep. 2025
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But even by the most conservative estimates, the US operation — the firm’s most lucrative market with 170 million active users — generates revenue north of $10 billion a year.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Activates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/activates. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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