IRRADIATE Synonyms: 87 Similar and Opposite Words

irradiate

verb

i-ˈrā-dē-ˌāt

Definition of irradiate

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

as in to radiate

to throw or give off irradiating an aura of supreme confidence on the playing field

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of irradiate The sterile flies are irradiated and released en masse, designed to blanket a region experiencing an outbreak. — Evan Bush, NBC news, 7 June 2026 Vector control districts serving Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties have irradiated males and released them in recent years. — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2026 His team added soil that had been irradiated almost five years earlier, and then closed the circuit. — Siddhant Pusdekar, Quanta Magazine, 1 June 2026 Trump’s obsession with gold has led his critics to compare him to the Bond villain Goldfinger, a bullion dealer who hatches a plan to irradiate the gold in Fort Knox in order to increase the value of his own supply. — Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 4 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for irradiate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for irradiate

Verb

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

Definition of illumine

Verb

This fall, hair trends are all about natural-looking, dimensional blondes that radiate understated luxury.

— Kat Suico, InStyle, 2 Sep. 2026
Youth and parents linked their loss of care to spikes in anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts, with stress radiating through entire families.

— Dr. SJ Job, Hartford Courant, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of radiate

Verb

Each morning at the crack of dawn, in one of the great Instagram moments of our time, 165 enormous balloons begin to swell in Cappadocia's half-light, their burners briefly illuminating the valley floor.

— Scott Campbell, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Sep. 2026
At night, few lights are turned on inside these beautiful slabs; of the twelve units in each building, only one or two are illuminated, meaning that most people with residences there live elsewhere in the city.

— Jonathan Flint, Harpers Magazine, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of illuminate

Verb

During the first hour, pine grove owners urged fire commanders to light a backfire a few hundred yards from Le Porge.

— Michael Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2026
Down the hall, his girlfriend examines her birth chart, lights the palo santo and wonders whether Mercury is going to wreck her Tuesday.

— Ryan Zickgraf, Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of light

Verb

The referendum campaign has fueled debate about Iceland’s place in the world, Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir told reporters after casting her ballot in the capital on Saturday.

— Reuters, NBC news, 30 Aug. 2026
The Holocaust monument took Treister five years to design and sculpt, and included research in Jerusalem and work in Taiwan and Mexico City, where his sculptures were cast.

— Lauren Costantino, Miami Herald, 29 Aug. 2026

Definition of cast

Verb

Another interpretation is that people would rather spend their limited time on prose that emanated from another human mind.

— Will Oremus, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026
Persistent cheers emanated from outside the locker room, where kids flanked the ramp to see the Ravens take the practice field.

— Jeff Zrebiec, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of emanate

Verb

Police were not immediately releasing the victims’ names pending notification of their families.

— Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
The trailer was released Monday before the Cubs showdown with the Brewers, which usually would’ve been the big story of the day if not for the fact that Milwaukee led the division by eight games with a month left.

— Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of release

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irony

irradiate

irradiated

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“Irradiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irradiate. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of irradiate

verb

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