The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Aerate \A"["e]r*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. A["e]rated; p. pr. &
   vb. n. A["e]rating.] [Cf. F. a['e]rer. See Air, v. t.]
   1. To combine or charge with gas; usually with carbonic acid
      gas, formerly called fixed air.
      [1913 Webster]

            His sparkling sallies bubbled up as from a["e]rated
            natural fountains.                    --Carlyle.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To supply or impregnate with common air; as, to a["e]rate
      soil; to a["e]rate water.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Physiol.) To expose to the chemical action of air; to
      oxygenate (the blood) by respiration; to arterialize.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. cause a change by passing air through (of sewage)

   Syn: activate
        [WordNet 1.5]

   A["e]rated bread, bread raised by charging dough with
      carbonic acid gas, instead of generating the gas in the
      dough by fermentation.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

aerate
    v 1: expose to fresh air; "aerate your old sneakers" [syn: air
         out, air, aerate]
    2: aerate (sewage) so as to favor the growth of organisms that
       decompose organic matter [syn: activate, aerate]
    3: impregnate, combine, or supply with oxygen; "oxygenate blood"
       [syn: oxygenate, oxygenize, oxygenise, aerate]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

53 Moby Thesaurus words for "aerate":
   aerify, air, air out, air-condition, air-cool, airify, atomize,
   beat, carbonate, chlorinate, cream, cross-ventilate, distill, emit,
   etherify, etherize, evaporate, exhale, fan, fluidize, foam,
   fractionate, freshen, froth, fume, fumigate, gasify, give off,
   hydrogenate, lather, mantle, oxygenate, oxygenize, perfume, reek,
   refresh, scum, send out, smoke, spray, spume, steam, sublimate,
   sublime, sud, suds, vaporize, ventilate, volatilize, whip, whisk,
   wind, winnow