Alkalized

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The treatment of substances allows for an increase in pH, thereby making them more basic in nature, which implies a modification to enhance alkalinity in compounds
2. This process signifies adjusting the chemical properties of substances to elevate their pH level, resulting in a more alkaline state and transforming their basic characteristics
3. Subjected to a chemical process that raises pH, causing the material to become more basic

Etymology: "Alkalized" is the past tense of "alkalize," which means to make something more basic, or less acidic. The verb is a straightforward construction: "alkali" plus the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun into a verb meaning "to make into or treat with" the thing named. The noun itself reaches back through medieval Latin "alcali" and "alcalibor" to Arabic "al-qily," a term for the ashes of saltwort and other plants, which were a traditional source of soda. That origin is why the modern chemical sense, a substance that neutralizes acid, grew out of a very practical kitchen-and-laboratory material. The suffix has a longer history than the noun. "-ize" descends from a Greek verb ending, "-izein," which Latin took up as "-izare" and which passed into English through Old French and Middle English. English speakers have been attaching it to nouns and adjectives ever since, so "alkalize" is one of many formations of this kind.

Synonyms: neutralized, treated, adjusted, modified, refined

Antonyms: acidified, soured, corroded, deteriorated, degraded