Activate
Activate verb - To cause to function.
Usage example: the thermostat is set to activate the heating system only when the temperature drops below 65 degrees
Start is a synonym for activate in operate topic. In some cases you can use "Start" instead a verb "Activate", when it comes to topics like start a function.
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- The 3rd film note and the beginning of the post-Cameron canon that was intended to end with Terminator 2 has Skynet activate and start Judgement Day later than originally fated but the message is it will still happen nonetheless.
Source: Lost Aesop -
During Outlaw Star the ship's computer, Gilliam, helps the new crew activate the XGP's engines during start up.
Source: Perilous Power Source - Should you activate the Mega Scuttler bomb (voiced by John Cleese), it will start to count down from one thousand.
Source: Always Close
Cite this Source
Start and Activate. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/activate/start
Activate & Start. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/activate/start>.
Start or Activate. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/activate/start.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "activate" and "start" have occurred on timeline