Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - galvanize

 verb  (-nized; -nizing)  Date: 1802  transitive verb  1.  a. to subject to the action of an electric current especially for the purpose of stimulating physiologically ~ a muscle  b. to stimulate or excite as if by an electric shock an issue that would ~ public opinion  2. to coat (iron or steel) with zinc; especially to immerse in molten zinc to produce a coating of zinc-iron alloy  intransitive verb to react as if stimulated by an electric shock they ~d into action  • galvanization noun  • ~r noun