as in to trigger
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of activate
There's a volume slider, track controls, and a button to activate either Amazon Alexa or the Sonos Voice Control.
—
Brad Bourque, Wired News, 26 Aug. 2025
Authorities in the country’s central provinces activated emergency measures on Sunday, which included a plan to evacuate around 587,000 people from Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue and Danang provinces, banning fishing vessels from leaving shore and securing dams and flood walls, according to VNA.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
About 800 National Guard troops are being activated, with Humvees parked along the Washington Monument and near Union Station.
—John Seewer, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025
The Pro Bowl linebacker was finally activated from the physically unable to perform list last Sunday after 11 months of rehabbing and trying to get back on the practice field.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for activate
Brad Bourque, Wired News, 26 Aug. 2025
Authorities in the country’s central provinces activated emergency measures on Sunday, which included a plan to evacuate around 587,000 people from Thanh Hoa, Quang Tri, Hue and Danang provinces, banning fishing vessels from leaving shore and securing dams and flood walls, according to VNA.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
About 800 National Guard troops are being activated, with Humvees parked along the Washington Monument and near Union Station.
—John Seewer, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025
The Pro Bowl linebacker was finally activated from the physically unable to perform list last Sunday after 11 months of rehabbing and trying to get back on the practice field.
—Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for activate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for activate
Verb
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Or a dormant service account suddenly becoming active might trigger a review.—
Craig Davies,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
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Starvation can occur long before famine is declared Because all three thresholds must be met to trigger a famine designation, many people may be starving well before phase five is reached.—
Nurith Aizenman,
NPR,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The brawl has sparked a broader conversation about crime and safety in Cincinnati.—
Cameron Knight,
The Enquirer,
14 Aug. 2025
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Similar scenes played out last year when the Perseids' peak coincided with a powerful geomagnetic storm that sparked auroras over North America.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The Warriors drove to Neuqua Valley’s 14 before being stopped.—
Matt Le Cren,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Aug. 2025
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Often, orders for high-end luxury cars are placed in advance, so thieves sit and wait until the right model drives into the parking lot and follow it to a spot.—
Phoebe Wall Howard,
USA Today,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The upper stage Starship section is powered by six Raptor engines that will ultimately travel in orbit.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
23 Aug. 2025
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The company’s shares rose more than 3% on the Bloomberg report, which said Apple recently inquired of Google about the potential for the search giant to build a custom artificial intelligence model that would power a new Siri that could launch next year.—
Jennifer Elias,
CNBC,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Consider using a password manager, which securely stores and generates complex passwords, reducing the risk of password reuse.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
30 Aug. 2025
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This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Enquirer digital news director.—
Jordan Kellogg,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Subsequent release dates have been moved forward to August for the past seven years.—
Jennifer Borresen,
USA Today,
26 Aug. 2025
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Even 6 inches of swiftly moving water can forcefully knock you off your feet.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Activate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/activate. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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