The word 激活 is formed by combining two characters: 激, which carries the core meaning of "to stimulate", "to arouse", or "to incite", and 活, which means "alive", "living", or "active". Their combination creates a conceptual metaphor where an external force or trigger (激) causes something to transition from a dormant or inactive state into a living, functioning, or operational state (活), thus perfectly encapsulating the meaning "to activate" or "to bring to life".