Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GALVANIZE
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pronounce
GALVANIZE:
Say it either "GOLL vuh nize" or, my preference: "GAL vuh nize."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Our word galvanize is an eponym: it comes from someone's name.
So, thanks, Luigi Galvani, for doing what you did! (We'll see what that was in a second.) Your name gave us an awesome word.
And, thanks, Florence Knoll, for doing what you did! Your name gave us an awesome word, too: knolling. Could you recall what it means? I hope so. I love that word. Makes me want to go knoll a drawer right now.
But first, let's study the word galvanize.
definition:
An Italian professor of anatomy, Luigi Galvani (1737-1798), is the person we often credit with discovering how muscles twitch in response to electricity. Galvani (probably) poked a frog with an electrode, noting how its leg twitched up.
Even though Galvani wasn't actually the first to discover how a chemical action can create an electrical current, his name still gave us the words "galvanism" and "galvanize."
Literally speaking, galvanism is the chemical stimulation of electricity, and to galvanize something is to electrify it by chemical means, or to coat it with metal by using that kind of electricity.
And figuratively speaking, to galvanize something is to shock it into action: to cause it to do something, as if by chemically sparking it.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Verb, the transitive kind: "She galvanized people into action."
Other forms:
Galvanized, galvanizing, galvanization, galvanizer(s).
For an adjective, we just use "galvanizing," as in "It was a galvanizing move." But there's also a true adjective, "galvanistical." It's rare.
how to use it:
Pick the common, formal word "galvanize" when you need a more interesting alternative to "energize," "animate," or "jolt." And you might pick "galvanize" when there's some deep, painful, emotional shock that pushes people into action.
Most often, we talk about people, actions, and events that galvanize large groups of people--or that galvanize those people to do things, or that galvanize people into action.
Sometimes, we talk about galvanizing things, like support, action, or a cause. And something can galvanize public opinion toward or against something.
examples:
"The ['Go Back to Africa'] graffiti galvanized supporters, who posted hundreds of anti-racism flyers around the village."
— Michael Hill, Associated Press, 14 September 2020
"The goal of conventions isn't so much to sell a candidate as to unify a platform and galvanize a base."
— Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 13 August 2020
has this page helped you understand "galvanize"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "galvanize" without saying "jolt" or "provoke."
try it out:
Talk about a song, a speech, a documentary, an event, or an ad campaign that galvanized people.
Why was it so galvanizing? And, what did it galvanize people to do?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for October is "Silly Smashings!"
In each issue this month, I'll give you the definition of a word I've concocted by smashing together two words we've studied before.
See if you can come up with the same silly smashing that I did.
For example, I'll say, "This noun means 'an extremely outdated, old-fashioned, ill-considered assumption that there are only two ways of dealing with a certain problem.'" And you'll say, "That's a troglodichotomy." (Which is a silly smashing of troglodyte and dichotomy.)
I'll list the answer at the bottom of each issue. Maybe your answer will match mine. Or maybe yours will be even better; if so, be sure to share it with me!
Try this one today:
This noun means "someone whose obsessive self-love tends to explode in a volcanic eruption of self-praise."
review this word:
A. ANESTHETIZE (to numb into apathy or inaction).
B. BALKANIZE (to split up into separate, hostile parts).
C. EPITOMIZE (to be a perfect example or representation).
2. The most logical spot for your most galvanizing paragraph or chapter is _____.
A. at the beginning, for clarity
B. in the middle, for comedic relief
C. at the end, as a call to action
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Our word galvanize is an eponym: it comes from someone's name.
An Italian professor of anatomy, Luigi Galvani (1737-1798), is the person we often credit with discovering how muscles twitch in response to electricity. Galvani (probably) poked a frog with an electrode, noting how its leg twitched up.
Part of speech:
Pick the common, formal word "galvanize" when you need a more interesting alternative to "energize," "animate," or "jolt." And you might pick "galvanize" when there's some deep, painful, emotional shock that pushes people into action.
"The ['Go Back to Africa'] graffiti galvanized supporters, who posted hundreds of anti-racism flyers around the village."
Explain the meaning of "galvanize" without saying "jolt" or "provoke."
Talk about a song, a speech, a documentary, an event, or an ad campaign that galvanized people.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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