Inertize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To render a substance or object chemically or physically inactive so that it no longer reacts or causes a reaction
2. To cause a material or system to lose its ability to interact or respond by introducing an inactive condition
3. To treat something so that it becomes stable and unreactive, preventing further chemical or physical changes

Etymology: "Inert" once meant "unskilled." It comes from Latin "iners," formed from "in-" (not) and "ars" (skill, art), so a person who lacked skill or craft was "iners." Only later did the sense shift toward idleness and then toward lacking motion or activity. Physics later borrowed the idea as inertia, a body's tendency to stay at rest or keep moving unless acted upon. "Inertize" is a modern formation: the adjective "inert" plus the suffix "-ize," which turns a quality into an action, so to inertize something is to make it inert. The suffix comes through Late Latin "-izare" from Greek "-izein." The verb is most common in technical and industrial contexts, such as filling a container with nitrogen or argon so that a flammable or reactive mixture cannot ignite or react.

Synonyms: passivate, neutralize, stabilize, deactivate, render inert

Antonyms: activate, energize, stimulate, oxidize, corrode