democratize
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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undemocratizationnoun
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de-democratizationnoun
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democratizernoun
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redemocratizeverb
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redemocratizationnoun
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undemocratizeverb (used with object)
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democratizationnoun
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de-democratizeverb
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have democratizedperfect
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has democratizedperfect 3rd person singular
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is democratizingprogressive 3rd person singular
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am democratizingprogressive 1st person singular
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democratizingparticiple
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democratizessingular 3rd person
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has been democratizingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been democratizingperfect progressive
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are democratizingprogressive
Past
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had democratizedperfect
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had been democratizingperfect progressive
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was democratizingprogressive singular
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were democratizingprogressive plural
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democratizedsimple
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democratizedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of democratize
1790–1800; < French démocratiser, equivalent to démocrate democrat + -iser -ize
Explanation
To democratize is to make an organization more democratic, supporting a system in which all citizens have a voice or a vote. When you democratize your school French club, you allow every member to vote on each decision. You'll most often see the verb democratize in the context of world politics, when countries that have historically not been democracies change their governments to be more democratic. In many cases, other countries, such as the U.S., try to influence such governments to make this change: they democratize them, in other words. The word democratize comes from the Greek root demokratia, "popular government," from demos, "common people," and kratos, "rule."
Vocabulary lists containing democratize
We the People: Dem
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-cracy, -crat
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Comparative Political Systems
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That is why MarketWatch exists, to democratize financial news, and why The Moneyist column exists too.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
“But we and Nvidia are teaming up to democratize AV data, real-world data, and provide it to the entire AV ecosystem.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
In 2010 one civil rights lawyer confidently proclaimed that our cameras would democratize evidence and bring about “real justice.”
From Slate • Jan. 15, 2026
"Training cutting-edge models now requires infrastructure investments that only a handful of organizations can afford," AWS said, positioning Trainium3 as a way to democratize access to high-powered AI computing.
From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025
All the old oppressive regulations were repealed and an attempt made to democratize the military system.
From Bolshevism The Enemy of Political and Industrial Democracy by Spargo, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
