atomize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
atomizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
atomized,
past participle, past
-
atomizing
present participle
-
to reduce to atoms.
-
to reduce to fine particles or spray.
-
to destroy (a target) by bombing, especially with an atomic bomb.
-
to split into smaller parts, sections, groups, factions, etc..
Principles of freedom and individual liberty encouraged the economic individualism that atomized the nation and destroyed social responsibility.
verb (used without object)
-
atomizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
atomized,
past participle, past
-
atomizing
present participle
verb
-
to separate or be separated into free atoms
-
to reduce (a liquid or solid) to fine particles or spray or (of a liquid or solid) to be reduced in this way
-
(tr) to destroy by weapons, esp nuclear weapons
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
atomizesimple
-
atomizessimple
-
have atomizedperfect
-
has atomizedperfect
-
am atomizingprogressive
-
are atomizingprogressive
-
is atomizingprogressive
-
have been atomizingperfect progressive
-
has been atomizingperfect progressive
Past
-
atomizedsimple
-
had atomizedperfect
-
was atomizingprogressive
-
were atomizingprogressive
-
had been atomizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of atomize
Explanation
To atomize something is to transform it into a fine spray. A perfume bottle atomizes your cologne so you can spritz it on your neck. When a substance is lightly sprayed, something needs to atomize it first. Atomize can also mean breaking something into small pieces or units: "Graduating from college seemed to atomize her group of friends, separating and spreading them across the country." In the 1840s, atomize meant "reduce to atoms," and by 1865 it also meant "reduce to a fine mist." It comes from the Latin atomus, "indivisible particle," from the Greek root atomos, "indivisible, uncut."
Vocabulary lists containing atomize
The Martian Chronicles
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
I, Robot
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
tom
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Binge-watching and the content boom helped atomize American culture.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2022
When you take physical communities and you atomize them, they’re not always as nourishing as the physical world.
From The Verge ● Nov. 16, 2021
This may change things or it could completely atomize the island once and for all.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2017
The effect parallels the subsequent crumbling of Vereen’s career and also Arceneaux’s attempt to atomize the damaging event.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2017
Q. Are you aware that in course of time the atomizer port will become worn too large and will discharge too large a volume of steam to properly atomize, and the remedy?
From The Traveling Engineers' Association To Improve The Locomotive Engine Service of American Railroads by Anonymous
Focusing on individual privacy protections isolates and atomizes us, however, while power rests in collective bodies.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2022
“These procedures call for fuel to be dumped over designated unpopulated areas, typically at higher altitudes so the fuel atomizes and disperses before it reaches the ground.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2020
The company spent the past five years engineering a showerhead that atomizes water, creating tiny droplets the company says cover 10 times more surface area than a normal shower to.
From Time ● Aug. 11, 2015
Lawrence; "Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It" is not about yoga; "Zona" reflectively atomizes the film "Stalker" by Andrei Tarkovsky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2015
It's that music can evaporate blue moods even as it atomizes them.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Fourth Amendment, the majority reminds us, cannot be atomized.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
In its most recent season, “60 Minutes” attracted an average of more than 9 million viewers External link per show, an anomaly in today’s atomized media environment.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
For example, subtle scents that cue feelings of relaxation or trust, atomized into an establishment, might cue visitors to stay longer and shop or purchase more, or associate the brand with a sense of well-being.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
Social media, which has divided us even more, has atomized community so much that I think the pendulum has swung just about as far as it possibly can away from kin-based organizations.
From Salon ● May 26, 2025
Everything was turned to a fine, atomized dust that hung suspended in the air for a second before slowly settling to earth.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
The New York Times is “disbanding” its sports department, atomizing the staff and pushing readers to pay extra for sports coverage by The Athletic, a money-losing news startup it bought last year for $550 million.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
But it does serve a purpose, acting as an effective salve for the very problems that these atomizing platforms create, the overflow of targeted information and stimulation.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2021
As Rushkoff puts it: "those of us without the funding to disown our humanity. . . don't have to use technology in such antisocial, atomizing ways."
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2020
Perhaps consensus was easier before all information was siloed, but America just keeps growing in size as our niches keep atomizing.
From Slate ● Mar. 21, 2019
George M. Smyth, Brooklyn, N. Y.—This invention consists in the combination of an air compressor, an air reservoir, and a receptacle for the liquid, and an arrangement of pipes and nozzles for atomizing the liquid.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
