sexualize

American  

[sek-shoo-uh-lahyz, seks-yoo-] / ˈsɛk ʃu əˌlaɪz, ˈsɛks yu- /

especially British, sexualise

verb (used with object)

sexualized, sexualizing

1. to render sexual; endow with sexual characteristics.

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sexualize British  

/ ˈsɛksjʊəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. to make or become sexual or sexually aware

2. to give or acquire sexual associations

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Other Word Forms

• desexualize verb (used with object)
• sexualization noun

Etymology

Origin of sexualize

First recorded in 1830–40; sexual + -ize

Example Sentences

The handmade stoneware tiles of Florencia Rothschild at Wishbone honor femininity and self-care in mural-like assemblages of nudes engaging in yoga, Pilates and rest, foregrounding the human form without sexualizing it.

From The Wall Street Journal

“This shift aims to ensure that no person, male or female, has to be explicitly sexualized in the future.”

From BBC

“If you took any of these books and replaced the characters with straight characters, nobody would accusing anyone of sexualizing their kids or teaching them bad morality,” Harris later said in an interview.

From Los Angeles Times

Accurate information does not “sexualize” children; it is not “grooming”; it is not “pornography.”

From Seattle Times

“There’s something here about how people consume media and how things get decontextualized and sexualized, whether or not that’s what the creator intended,” she said.

From New York Times