compartmentalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to divide into separate and isolated categories, sections, areas, or compartments.
Instead of compartmentalizing tasks, employees can be trained broadly.
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Psychology. to mentally separate or set aside (one’s incompatible or negative emotions, beliefs, or behaviors): Unfortunately, the experiences at work are not easily compartmentalized—they stay with the nurses and affect every aspect of their lives.
Ripley, a serial killer, has the capacity to compartmentalize his thoughts, push his conscience conveniently aside, in order to live with himself.
Unfortunately, the experiences at work are not easily compartmentalized—they stay with the nurses and affect every aspect of their lives.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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compartmentalizesimple
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compartmentalizessimple
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have compartmentalizedperfect
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has compartmentalizedperfect
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am compartmentalizingprogressive
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are compartmentalizingprogressive
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is compartmentalizingprogressive
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have been compartmentalizingperfect progressive
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has been compartmentalizingperfect progressive
Past
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compartmentalizedsimple
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had compartmentalizedperfect
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was compartmentalizingprogressive
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were compartmentalizingprogressive
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had been compartmentalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of compartmentalize
First recorded in 1920–25; compartmental + -ize
Explanation
When you separate something into smaller sections or categories, you compartmentalize it. Sometimes people compartmentalize their feelings in order to understand them better. Someone who compartmentalizes his own life tends to sort its different parts, keeping work life completely removed from recreation or family life, for example. A college student might find that a good way to prepare for a history exam is to compartmentalize each decade and study them separately. The verb compartmentalize comes from the noun compartment, itself from the Old French compartiment, "part partitioned off," from the Late Latin compartiri, "to divide."
Vocabulary lists containing compartmentalize
A Face for Picasso
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Words with 15 or More Letters, List 5
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Internment
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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:
The first Graham showcased how the ability to compartmentalize in politics can be a great gift — a nod to the old maxim that today’s enemy might be tomorrow’s friend.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Waldorf’s job, treating critical patients in the intensive care unit, had taught her to compartmentalize, to stay cool under pressure.
From Salon ● May 27, 2026
So I stopped trying to be my whole self everywhere, and gave myself permission to prioritize and compartmentalize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
“Just being able to compartmentalize everything that’s been going on, being able to take all the emotions and leave them off the court,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2025
I’d been trained my entire life to compartmentalize, to give my entire focus to the situation at hand, and I leaned hard on the habits developed from years and years of study and work.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
As much as the conversation about the Packers keeps veering toward his dissatisfaction, Rodgers compartmentalizes annoyance better than most.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2021
He’s said that he compartmentalizes, so that if he’s with you, he’s just Dennis.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2019
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with a movie that compartmentalizes its emotions and dishes them out like stocking stuffers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2016
“John really compartmentalizes his two lives,” said Henry Tyndorf, the school principal.
From New York Times ● Apr. 24, 2013
The guide compartmentalizes U.S. history into 10 eras, from the beginnings until 1620 to contemporary $ America, and proposes two to four "standards" of what students should know about each period.
From Time Magazine Archive
The information is kept highly classified and intricately compartmentalized.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
At the system level, hardware needs to be compartmentalized by dividing business data into different groups, granting users specific access based on their roles and adding a layer of protection to the information.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 20, 2026
Will’s objections, based on his past writings, may be more aesthetic than principled, the product of a neatly compartmentalized mind.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
It is too early to say what impact, if any, the attack on Fico would have on the EU elections, since they are highly compartmentalized in 27 separate polls in the member states.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2024
I’ve compartmentalized it in a corner of my mind to keep me functional.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
There has long been speculation that Graham’s capacity for compartmentalizing also extended to his personal life.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
But by compartmentalizing and integrating digital screens to show their inventory—rather than the rows of products—machines can offer about twice as many items.
From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2025
Recent research has shown that closing your home’s garage door and all interior doors could ease the high winds somewhat by compartmentalizing them, according to Smith.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2024
Healthy compartmentalization involves regulating your emotions while unhealthy compartmentalizing means repressing them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
Barack, who’s always been good at compartmentalizing, managed to be admirably present and undistracted when he was with us.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
