canonize

American  

[kan-uh-nahyz] / ˈkæn əˌnaɪz /

especially British, canonise

verb (used with object)

• canonizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• canonized,
  past participle,  past
• canonizing
  present participle

1. Ecclesiastical. to place in the canon of saints.

2. to glorify.

3. to make canonical; place or include within a canon, especially of scriptural works.

   They canonized the Song of Solomon after much controversy.

4. to consider or treat as sacrosanct or holy.

   They canonized his many verbal foibles and made them gospel.

5. to sanction or approve authoritatively, especially ecclesiastically.

6. Archaic. to deify.

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canonize British  

/ ˈkænəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. RC Church to declare (a person) to be a saint and thus admit to the canon of saints

2. to regard as holy or as a saint

3. to sanction by canon law; pronounce valid

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• canonization
  noun
• canonizer
  noun
• supercanonization
  noun
• uncanonization
  noun
• uncanonize
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Participles

• canonizing
  present
• canonized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• canonize
  simple
• canonizes
  simple
• have canonized
  perfect
• has canonized
  perfect
• am canonizing
  progressive
• are canonizing
  progressive
• is canonizing
  progressive
• have been canonizing
  perfect progressive
• has been canonizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• canonized
  simple
• had canonized
  perfect
• was canonizing
  progressive
• were canonizing
  progressive
• had been canonizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will canonize
  simple
• will have canonized
  perfect
• will be canonizing
  progressive
• will have been canonizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of canonize

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English; canon ¹ ( def. ) + -ize ( def. )

Explanation

When you canonize a person, you put him on a pedestal — in other words, you think he's so wonderful that he can do no wrong. You might canonize your grandmother after she dies, choosing to remember her as a saint who never raised her voice and was kind to everyone. When the Roman Catholic Church canonizes someone, it has a slightly different meaning. The Church canonizes people who have performed miracles and are declared — literally — to be saints. The literal meaning is "place in the canon of saints," and it comes from the Latin canon, "church rule."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canonize canonizes canonized canonizing

Memes, livestreams and hashtags now allow anyone to canonize someone they admire.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2025

“It’s a gift of God that Pope Francis — an Argentine pope, a Jesuit pope — can canonize her,” he said.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 11, 2024

Williams is arguably the best candidate for the Heisman Trophy, but to canonize him in such manner is another story.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2022

Much has changed since 1994, when Campion became only the second woman ever nominated for best director, and the chance to canonize her could put Campion in contention for a major Oscar.

From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2021

If you remain moderately virtuous, we will canonize you.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science Volume 12, No. 30, September, 1873 by Various

—Pope Francis announces the revocation of sainthood for Father Junipero Serra and canonizes Huell Howser as California’s patron saint.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 5, 2021

Surprising many, Benedict also canonizes Tami Taylor, though she is not Catholic and is in fact a fictional character.

From Slate ● Feb. 19, 2013

A refreshingly direct and amusingly tactless interrogator, he neither sentimentalizes nor canonizes his feisty models, who handle their variously truncated limbs with casual practicality.

From New York Times ● Apr. 16, 2010

On September 4, Mother Teresa will be elevated to sainthood when Pope Francis canonizes her at the Vatican.

From National Geographic

After they are dead the world sometimes canonizes them and carves on their tombs the word "Savior."

From Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great - Volume 02 Little Journeys To the Homes of Famous Women by Elbert Hubbard

The show’s new profiles include the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint: Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia at age 15 in 2006 and was canonized in September by Pope Leo XIV.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025

Catholic school nuns practically canonized John F. Kennedy, never ceasing to remind us students that he was the first Catholic President.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2024

As someone who wrote about beauty, I was interested in how it canonized certain products like French girl pharmacy products, cult things you’d have to be a real beauty nerd to be into.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2023

The first four caliphs committed to writing a canonized Quran and helped interpret and articulate the religious law.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

Mamita, furious at hearing her husband canonized at her expense, took her revenge.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Advocates in the fight against child sex trafficking, by contrast, take issue with the film for canonizing the controversial operations of Ballard and his former organization, Operation Underground Railroad.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2023

The process for canonizing that priest, the Rev. Leon Dehon, had begun more than 40 years earlier.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2019

I wholeheartedly concur that Mr. McCain deserves honoring, but canonizing him, as the media and the political elite seem to be doing, is going way too far.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 5, 2018

By canonizing Mother Teresa, he is clearly aiming to give his Holy Year of Mercy an icon for the faithful to venerate around the world.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 18, 2015

From the Cathedral spires the Rogjans called out to the countryside some cantorial chants, announcing and honouring, and strangely, even canonizing the Cardinal Allen.

From Scorched Earth by Walter D. Petrovic

Related Words

• beatify
• consecrate