medicalize

[ med-i-kuh-lahyz ]

verb (used with object)

, med·i·cal·ized, med·i·cal·iz·ing.

1. to handle or accept as deserving of or appropriate for medical treatment.

Other Words From

• medi·cal·i·zation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of medicalize¹

medical + -ize

Example Sentences

He gets a couple of different diagnoses and the condition is medicalized.

From Outside Online

Then she shifts to the dangers of trying to medicalize racism, which is not a medical phenomenon.

From Science News

I am often dismayed at the many ways in which we medicalize a natural phenomenon that affects us all—aging.

From The Daily Beast