naturalize

[ nach-er-uh-lahyz, nach-ruh- ]
See synonyms for: naturalizenaturalization on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),nat·u·ral·ized, nat·u·ral·iz·ing.
  1. to confer upon (an alien) the rights and privileges of a citizen.

  2. to introduce (organisms) into a region and cause them to flourish as if native.

  1. to introduce or adopt (foreign practices, words, etc.) into a country or into general use: to naturalize a French phrase.

  2. to bring into conformity with nature.

  3. to regard or explain as natural rather than supernatural: to naturalize miracles.

  4. to adapt or accustom to a place or to new surroundings.

verb (used without object),nat·u·ral·ized, nat·u·ral·iz·ing.
  1. to become naturalized.

  2. to adapt as if native to a new environment, set of circumstances, etc.

  1. to study or carry on research in natural history.

Origin of naturalize

1
First recorded in 1585–95; natural + -ize
  • Also especially British, nat·u·ral·ise .

Other words from naturalize

  • nat·u·ral·i·za·tion, noun
  • nat·u·ral·iz·er, noun
  • un·nat·u·ral·ize, verb (used with object), un·nat·u·ral·ized, un·nat·u·ral·iz·ing.

Words Nearby naturalize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use naturalize in a sentence

  • The attempt to naturalize them in France, or any Continental nation, he regards as mischievous quackery.

    August Comte and Positivism | John-Stuart Mill
  • A few words on the latest attempt which has been made to naturalize an exotic bird in England will not seem out of place here.

  • If I have failed, I have but added another failure to the numerous attempts to naturalize hexameter verse in the English language.

  • When portions of the stem or of the tuber are thrown away by the side of streams, they naturalize themselves easily.

    Origin of Cultivated Plants | Alphonse De Candolle
  • The seeds of sesame often sow themselves outside plantations, and more or less naturalize the species.

    Origin of Cultivated Plants | Alphonse De Candolle

British Dictionary definitions for naturalize

naturalize

naturalise

/ (ˈnætʃrəˌlaɪz, -tʃərə-) /


verb
  1. (tr) to give citizenship to (a person of foreign birth)

  2. to be or cause to be adopted in another place, as a word, custom, etc

  1. (tr) to introduce (a plant or animal from another region) and cause it to adapt to local conditions

  2. (intr) (of a plant or animal) to adapt successfully to a foreign environment and spread there

  3. (tr) to explain (something unusual) with reference to nature, excluding the supernatural

  4. (tr) to make natural or more lifelike

Derived forms of naturalize

  • naturalization or naturalisation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for naturalize

naturalize

[ năchər-ə-līz′ ]


  1. To establish a nonnative species in a region where it is able to reproduce successfully and live alongside native species in the wild. Naturalized species may be introduced intentionally or unintentionally. Eucalyptus trees are native to Australia but have become naturalized in many other parts of the world.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.