Depolarised

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Having lost or reduced the electrical polarization across a membrane; having become electrically neutralized; describing cells or molecules that have undergone a decrease in polarization
2. Characterizing the process by which a cell or structure loses its charge difference or electrical potential; referring to a state where previous polarization is diminished or nullified; indicating a non-polarized condition
3. Pertaining to the reversal or reduction of electrical polarity in a membrane or substance; indicating that ionic or charge separation has been disrupted; describing the condition of being electrically neutralized after previously polarized

Etymology: "Depolarised" is the British spelling of "depolarized," the past tense and past participle of "depolarise," a verb built from the prefix "de-" meaning "reversal or removal of," plus "polarise." The base word "polarise" carries the older physical sense: it comes from "polar," which traces back to Greek "polos," meaning "axis" or "pole," and in English the term was applied to light and magnetism before anything else. The prefix does the work here. Adding "de-" to "polarise" gives the sense of undoing a polarised state, so that something once oriented in a particular direction, or charged with opposing poles, is brought back to a neutral condition. In electrophysiology, this describes a cell membrane whose resting voltage difference between inside and outside has shrunk, as when a nerve cell fires and its charge temporarily collapses.

Synonyms: neutralized, balanced

Antonyms: polarized, charged