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Americanize

American  
[uh-mer-i-kuh-nahyz] / əˈmɛr ɪ kəˌnaɪz /
especially British, Americanise

verb (used with or without object)

Americanizes, present (3rd person singular) Americanized, past participle, past Americanizing present participle
  1. to make or become American in character; assimilate to the customs and institutions of the United States.


Americanize British  
/ əˈmɛrɪkəˌnaɪz /

verb

  1. to make or become American in outlook, attitudes, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of Americanize

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; American + -ize

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.

See Examples For:

And his character is complex in novel ways: The child of Chinese immigrants, Alexander was reared by people almost desperate to Americanize themselves, and he too has a hunger to be accepted.

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 26, 2025

We have experienced similar failures, with less bloodshed but more significant strategic consequences, in our recent efforts to Americanize potential rivals.

From New York Times Sep. 4, 2021

An unnerving and compelling series in its own right, it also offers a primer on how to Americanize a tale without ruining it.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 9, 2015

As a part of their plan to Americanize the tribes, reformers sought legislation to replace this concept with the popular Euro-American notion of real estate ownership and self-reliance.

From Textbooks Dec. 30, 2014

“And what better way to Americanize the children than to buy a car!”

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

I don't care that chef Eddie Americanizes recipes.

From New York Times Apr. 9, 2018

A coed Filipino version was made in 1975, and a prosaic Americanized take in 1990.

From Los Angeles Times May 4, 2026

New Englanders have strong opinions, and one of them is that our regional, Americanized Chinese food is the best in the United States.

From Salon May 3, 2026

Figuring out which direction each of these pastors pulled—toward a Christian nation or an Americanized Christianity, or both—might have added fine print to Mr. Sutton’s catalog of believers.

From The Wall Street Journal Apr. 19, 2026

“They wanted us to feel Americanized as much as possible,” Ravula said.

From Seattle Times Nov. 22, 2023

Ralph argued that in fact this way they could avoid getting too Americanized.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Many Canadians despise him for Americanizing their game, but he devised a program to aid Canada-based teams when currency disparities handicapped them.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 30, 2023

It broke several records on Spotify and YouTube, and opened more doors for Latin music to be integrated on pop radio without watering down or Americanizing its songs.

From Washington Times Jan. 22, 2018

But while he has sought a resolution of the Syrian civil war, Mattis in 2013 warned against Americanizing what would be a “very, very serious war”.

From The Guardian Dec. 1, 2016

The Lisnianskys came to the United States in 1925, Americanizing their name in the processes.

From New York Times Jun. 4, 2010

Just fancy Americanizing an American born and bred!

From Jane Allen, Junior by Bancroft, Edith

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