internalize

[ in-tur-nl-ahyz ]

verb (used with object)

, in·ter·nal·ized, in·ter·nal·iz·ing.

1. to incorporate (the cultural values, mores, motives, etc., of another or of a group), as through learning, socialization, or identification.
2. to make subjective or give a subjective character to.
3. Linguistics. to acquire (a linguistic rule, structure, etc.) as part of one's language competence.

internalize

/ ɪnˈtɜːnəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. See introject
   tr psychol sociol to make internal, esp to incorporate within oneself (values, attitudes, etc) through learning or socialization Alsointeriorize Compare introject

Derived Forms

• inˌternaliˈzation, noun

Other Words From

• in·ter·nal·i·za·tion [in-tur-nl-ahy-, zey, -sh, uh, n] especially British, in·ter·nal·i·sa·tion noun
• qua·si-in·ter·nal·ized especially British, qua·si-in·ter·nal·ised adjective
• sem·i-in·ter·nal·ized especially British, sem·i-in·ter·nal·ised adjective
• un·in·ter·nal·ized especially British, un·in·ter·nal·ised adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of internalize¹

First recorded in 1940–45; internal + -ize

Example Sentences

Closed-book exams could be used to test whether students have internalized this basic knowledge.

From Washington Post

Every investor interviewed for this piece stressed that the technologies have matured, the market is now ripe for these companies, and the hard-won lessons from the last bust have been internalized.

From MIT Technology Review

But, she said, “I’ve always had this notion my nails always had to be done, or I wasn’t professional,” adding, “Maybe it’s a weird internalized sexism thing.”

From Vox

Rory Gilmore is the girl who internalized at a very young age the ideas that she wasn’t enough for her father to stick around for and that she was the reason her mother’s life went off the rails.

From Vox

Brands have internalized the need to prepared to turn on a dime, and have learned that’s an asset even in more predictable times.

From Digiday

Sadly, some impressionable young listeners will internalize this “advice.”

From The Daily Beast

Being bullied makes people internalize their feelings and beliefs.

From The Daily Beast

It would just be nice if he could internalize that not all government benefits are handouts or are equal.

From The Daily Beast

Some couples who have been early to marry and early to divorce may “internalize an unwarranted sense of guilt or shame.”

From The Daily Beast

To feel shame for the actions of other Jews is to internalize this kind of anti-Semitism.

From The Daily Beast

It was difficult to internalize in an environment both objective and external.

From Project Gutenberg