De‐po″lar‐ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p.Depolarized (?); p. pr. & vb. n.Depolarizing.] [Pref. de- + polarize: cf. F. dépolarizer.] 1. (Opt.) To deprive of polarity; to reduce to an unpolarized condition.
☞ This word has been inaccurately applied in optics to describe the effect of a polarizing medium, as a crystalline plate, in causing the reappearance of a ray, in consequence of a change in its plane of polarization, which previously to the change was intercepted by the analyzer.
2. (Elec.) To free from polarization, as the negative plate of the voltaic battery.