internalize

American  

[in-tur-nl-ahyz] / ɪnˈtɜr nlˌaɪz /

especially British, internalise

verb (used with object)

• internalizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• internalized,
  past participle,  past
• internalizing
  present participle

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.

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internalize British  

/ ɪnˈtɜːnəˌlaɪz /

verb

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• internalization
  noun
• quasi-internalized
  adjective
• semi-internalized
  adjective
• uninternalized
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• internalizing
  present
• internalized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• internalize
  simple
• internalizes
  simple
• have internalized
  perfect
• has internalized
  perfect
• am internalizing
  progressive
• are internalizing
  progressive
• is internalizing
  progressive
• have been internalizing
  perfect progressive
• has been internalizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• internalized
  simple
• had internalized
  perfect
• was internalizing
  progressive
• were internalizing
  progressive
• had been internalizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will internalize
  simple
• will have internalized
  perfect
• will be internalizing
  progressive
• will have been internalizing
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of internalize

First recorded in 1940–45; internal + -ize

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Explanation

If you feel anger, pain, fear or hurt but never show it, you internalize it — you keep it inside. If you think about the prefix inter- which always indicated something within, you have the meaning of the adjective internalize, "to keep or take something in." It can be used in either a positive or negative way. If you are a debater who internalizes a topic, then you know it inside and out. On the other hand, you're not doing yourself any favors if you internalize your guilt.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

internalize internalizes internalized internalizing

Universities should make fraternities internalize the cost of misconduct through liability insurance, mandatory reporting and sanctions with teeth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

It feels inevitable that I’ve started to internalize its ticks, even the most infamous ones, like incessant em-dashing and overreliance on the “It’s not x but y” structure.

From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026

Bird designed tools to help the kids budget, and holds weekly money meetings to check in and reinforce the ideas she hopes her children, now 11, 9 and 8 years old, will internalize.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 4, 2026

It’s important to do your own research and internalize why you own a stock.

From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026

Because there are a myriad of such variations, it’s difficult for most players to internalize even a small portion.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Guided by previous research of spider brains, the scientists uncovered evidence of a "waste canal system" in the human brain that internalizes waste from healthy neurons.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2024

He only internalizes the doubt enough to let it fire him up.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

It’s how the system internalizes within myself and makes me hate myself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 18, 2022

It's also a little bit like socially prescribed perfectionism, where one internalizes the need to be perfect thanks to perceived pressure from others.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2021

So in his family of origin man internalizes ideas of "right-wrong," "appropriate-inappropriate," "expected-unexpected."

From Humanistic Nursing by Josephine G. Paterson

It’s not shameful to fight, an idea many of us have internalized, she says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

The young singers have clearly internalized its principles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

When she finds out what Margo’s doing, her internalized shame at having worked at Hooters once upon a time resurfaces.

From Salon ● May 4, 2026

And we’re all learning, in real time, what happens when the resulting fury is internalized at a mass scale.

From Slate ● May 1, 2026

As much as I found Robbie to be snippy and inflexible, I’d also internalized her devotion to rigor.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

“I think it could have made a huge difference in her self-esteem. I think she was internalizing a lot of things as a personal failure when just her brain was working differently,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

“It ignored the young patients who would be in her clinic, exposed to her speech, and susceptible to internalizing ideas that may scar them for life,” they wrote.

From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2026

Europe is moving toward internalizing security costs and building fiscal capacity.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 17, 2026

“For Nvidia, the long-term risk isn’t just rival chips, but key customers like Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and others steadily internalizing more of the value chain,” Dalfovo said.

From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025

The song B-I-N-G-O is an excellent example in which to practice internalizing the pitch since the singer has to clap the rhythm and silently think the pitch in their head.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

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