Polarizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Separates a group or population into two opposing sides or viewpoints ; causes light or other waves to vibrate in a specific direction or focuses electrical charge in a particular way
2. Creates a sharp division between different attitudes or beliefs among people ; alters the orientation of light waves or electromagnetic fields to limit vibrations to one plane
3. Splits a community or set of ideas into contrasting factions ; transforms unpolarized light or particles into a state with aligned orientation or direction

Etymology: "Polarizes" is the third-person singular present form of "polarize," so it is the verb's ending for "he, she, or it," and the verb itself is the one that matters. "Polarize" comes from French "polariser," which is built from "polar," the adjective for the poles, and the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make or become like" something. The core idea is therefore to make something behave as if it had two opposite ends. That literal sense of two opposed ends is what the word carries into its modern figurative use. When a physicist polarizes light or a magnet, the field or beam is pulled into a fixed direction with opposite poles. Applied to people, the same picture of two distinct, opposed camps is what the verb describes when an issue pushes a community into rival sides.

Synonyms: divides, splits, separates, distinguishes, differentiates

Antonyms: unites, integrates, combines, merges, blends