1
as in to illumine
to supply with light
the light from a galaxy of flashing signs irradiates the heart and soul of Las Vegas
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to radiate
to throw or give off
irradiating an aura of supreme confidence on the playing field
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of irradiate
Clooney — face wrapped in a giant gray beard — plays Augustine, a scientist at an Arctic research station that's still standing after an unnamed global catastrophe leaves the Earth irradiated.
—
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025
Set two-hundred years after atomic armageddon, residents of Vault-Tec’s network of luxury fallout habitats begin to explore the radioactive territory outside their shelters and discover a nightmarish world of militant factions, irradiated creatures, vicious raiders, and feral monsters.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 16 Dec. 2025
The oldest dates back to 1970 and holds big, gnarly trees grown from 100 percent American irradiated nuts grafted onto Chinese rootstock.
—Eric J. Wallace, Outside, 24 Oct. 2025
After decades of technological and scientific advancements, irradiating food is now a common practice around the world.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irradiate
Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Dec. 2025
Set two-hundred years after atomic armageddon, residents of Vault-Tec’s network of luxury fallout habitats begin to explore the radioactive territory outside their shelters and discover a nightmarish world of militant factions, irradiated creatures, vicious raiders, and feral monsters.
—Jeff Spry, Space.com, 16 Dec. 2025
The oldest dates back to 1970 and holds big, gnarly trees grown from 100 percent American irradiated nuts grafted onto Chinese rootstock.
—Eric J. Wallace, Outside, 24 Oct. 2025
After decades of technological and scientific advancements, irradiating food is now a common practice around the world.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 21 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irradiate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irradiate
Verb
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Fantastic, illumined by periodic excursions into surrealism, as when the crew of a mysterious UFO boards a transpacific Kahuna Airlines jet midflight.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Geraldine walked over to Felix and Jane’s for fish soup, through long autumn shadows in the park, haze rising like smoke from the grass, illumined by the low sun.—
Tessa Hadley,
New Yorker,
25 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Bell, whose screen roles have long radiated decency and sensitivity, channels that guilelessness once more, only to expose it as yet another façade that helps Niall to conceal his darker impulses.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
24 Apr. 2026
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This X-ray glow is radiated when the heavy ions of the solar wind, like carbon and oxygen, grab an electron from neutral atoms in either our outer atmosphere or the heliosphere.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Public rhetoric, especially when amplified through modern communications channels, can inflame rather than illuminate.—
William E. Lori,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
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Kaplan mines Mitford’s own writings, her family letters and photos, plus archives to detail each phase of this multifaceted life, illuminating along the way her loves, losses, loyalties and confounding contradictions.—
The Know,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The other triggers luminescence, causing materials to emit light in ultraviolet, visible or infrared wavelengths.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026
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Record-breaking drought in the Southeast continues to fuel flames in both states, and the fires are emitting enough smoke to keep air quality conditions poor across the area.—
Natalie Neysa Alund,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For some, a Day 3 NFL draft selection lights a competitive fuse, so to speak.—
Chris Perkins,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
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Until Artie Moreno fixes the holes in the ceiling and the holes in the lineup, the only thing consistently lit in Anaheim might be a Closed for Infestation sign.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Their fans will have cast a nervous glance at the goal difference column after City raced into the lead at Turf Moor through Erling Haaland after five minutes.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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At one point, my friend was added to a WeChat group that included nearly five hundred foreign actors, many of whom were sharing casting calls to make sure they weren’t being scammed.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In the morning, I would be woken by music emanating from the frat house down the block.—
Saïd Sayrafiezadeh,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2026
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The vehicle was apparently abandoned in the Hollywood Hills and towed to a police impound lot, where an employee noticed a foul smell emanating from the trunk last September and alerted authorities.—
Andi Babineau,
CNN Money,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Patriots lost K’Lavon Chaisson in free agency and released edge defender Anfernee Jennings.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
25 Apr. 2026
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With micro-dramas, if audiences don’t respond on the day a title is released, the social-media algorithm stops promoting it, and Zhou immediately changes what he green-lights.—
Chang Che,
New Yorker,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irradiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irradiate. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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