Acidify

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈsɪdɪfaɪ/

Definitions

1. To transform a neutral or basic solution into one that is more acidic by introducing an acid or through a chemical process
2. The act of increasing the acidity of a substance, typically by the addition of acids or other agents that catalyze this change
3. To cause a substance to become more acidic by adding acid or altering its chemical composition

Etymology: Acidify is a straightforward formation: it combines "acid", a noun taken from Latin "acidus", meaning sour or sharp to the taste, with the suffix "-ify", which turns nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make" or "to become" something. Put together, the verb means to make something more acidic. The same pattern produces words like "purify" and "solidify", both built from familiar roots with this verb-forming ending. The root reaches English through French, which has its own parallel verb, "acidifier". The Latin source is an adjective describing sourness, and it is the ancestor of the English noun "acid", so the sense of sharpness on the tongue is still present in the chemical meaning. A reader meeting "acidify" in a chemistry lab or an ecology report is therefore following a sourness word that has been stretched into a precise technical sense.

Synonyms: sour, tart, sharp, caustic, corrosive

Antonyms: alkalinize, neutralize, deacidify, sweeten, balance