Actuate vs. Activate: What's the Difference?

To put into motion or action; activate

To set in motion; make active or more active.

To cause to take action

To organize or create (a military unit, for example)

(transitive) To activate, or to put into motion; to animate.

To treat (sewage) with aeration and bacteria to aid decomposition.

(transitive) To incite to action; to motivate.

(Chemistry) To accelerate a reaction in, as by heat.

To put into action or motion; to move or incite to action; to influence actively; to move as motives do; - more commonly used of persons.

(Physics) To make (a substance) radioactive.

To carry out in practice; to perform.

(Biology) To convert (a molecule or cell) into a form that carries out a specific action

Put in action; actuated.

(transitive) To encourage development or induce increased activity; to stimulate.

Put in motion or move to act;

(transitive) To put a device, mechanism (alarm etc.) or system into action or motion; to trigger, to actuate, to set off, to enable.

Give an incentive for action;

To render more reactive; excite.

To render a molecule reactive, active, or effective in performing its function.

To render a substance radioactive.

To hasten a chemical reaction, especially by heating.

To remove the limitations of demoware by providing a license; to unlock.

(transitive) To aerate in order to aid decomposition of organic matter.

To organize or create a military unit or station.

To bring a player back after an injury.

To make active.

Put in motion or move to act;

Make active or more active;

Make more adsorptive;

Aerate (sewage) so as to favor the growth of organisms that decompose organic matter

Make (substances) radioactive