sparked

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of spark.

   The court ruling sparked protests across the country.

   A single careless comment sparked the whole dispute.

   Note

   The spelling is regular, and one form does both jobs: "the ruling sparked protests" and "it has sparked protests" look alike. Most modern uses are figurative and transitive. A cause is the subject and a reaction is the object. Used intransitively, it can mean a wire or flint simply gave off sparks. In older writing, a man who sparked was courting. The same spelling also serves as the laboratory adjective.

2. 2
   adjective

   Having had electric sparks passed through it.

   The sparked mixture showed traces of new compounds after the experiment.

   Researchers compared the sparked sample with an untreated control.

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