Alkalinised

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Rendered basic or alkaline in chemical nature through the addition of an alkali or other base
2. Treated so that a substance or solution has a pH above seven and became alkaline in character
3. Converted into an alkaline state by introducing a base such as lime or sodium hydroxide

Etymology: Alkalinised is the past tense and past participle of "alkalinise", which means to make something alkaline. The verb is built from the adjective "alkaline" plus the suffix "-ise", so its core is the chemistry of bases: a substance that neutralises acids and feels slippery or bitter, the opposite of acidic. The suffix has a long journey behind it. "-ise" arrived in English through Middle French "-iser" and Late Latin "-izare", which were themselves borrowed from Ancient Greek "-izein", a verb ending used to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat with". That Greek ending spread across European languages, which is why so many English verbs share the same tail, from "organise" to "sterilise".

Synonyms: alkalinize, basify, alkalize

Antonyms: acidify, acidise