Depolarise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To cause the loss or reduction of electrical polarity in a cell or nerve, disrupting resting membrane potential and leading to activation or change in function
2. The process of diminishing the difference in charge across a membrane, especially in neurons or muscle fibers, which initiates a biological response
3. Effecting the neutralization of an electrical charge gradient, particularly by altering ionic distribution to enable transmission of a signal or cellular activity

Etymology: "Depolarise" is a plain formation: the prefix "de-", meaning "reversal or removal", attached to "polarise." The sense of "polarise" that matters here comes from physics, where light and magnetism were found to have directional properties, and "polarise" took on the sense of giving something two opposed poles or charges. Adding "de-" reverses that, so to depolarise something is to strip away its charge or its orientation. The prefix itself is inherited from Latin "de", which could mean "down", "away" or "undo", and English has long used it to form verbs of reversal such as "decode" and "deforest." Depolarise follows the same pattern, so its meaning can be worked out from its parts. The verb is used both literally, of electrical charge and magnetic fields, and more loosely, of removing the sharp divisions that opposed groups hold around an issue.

Synonyms: neutralize, demagnetize, discharge, equalize, deactivate

Antonyms: polarize, charge, energize, activate, magnetize