Alkalinising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Making a substance more alkaline by adding a base or raising its pH level
2. Rendering a solution or soil less acidic and more basic through the addition of alkali
3. Turning something chemically basic by introducing an alkaline material into it

Etymology: The word is a verb built in two steps. "Alkaline" is the adjective (from the Arabic-derived "alkali," a name for substances that neutralise acids), and the suffix "-ise" turns it into a verb meaning to make something alkaline. The suffix has a long ancestry: it began in Ancient Greek as "-izein," passed through Late Latin "-izare," then Middle French "-iser," and reached English as "-isen" in Middle English before settling into the modern "-ise" spelling. So "alkalinise" literally means "to make alkaline," and the forms ending in "-ising" are the present participle, used for the ongoing action of that change. In chemistry and water treatment, the word describes raising the pH of a liquid, so a solution being "alkalinising" is one becoming less acidic, the opposite of acidifying.

Synonyms: alkalizing, basifying

Antonyms: acidifying