compartmentalize

[kuh m-pahrt-men-tl-ahyz, kom-pahrt-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR compartmentalize ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), com·part·men·tal·ized, com·part·men·tal·iz·ing.

to divide into categories or compartments.

Also especially British, com·part·men·tal·ise.

Origin of compartmentalize

First recorded in 1920–25; compartmental + -ize

Related formscom·part·men·tal·i·za·tion, nounde·com·part·men·tal·i·za·tion, nounde·com·part·men·tal·ize, verb (used with object), de·com·part·men·tal·ized, de·com·part·men·tal·iz·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for compartmentalize

insulate, sort, interval, group, space, seclude, island, distribute, winnow, sequester, assign, sift, comb, discriminate, compartment, intervene, order, classify

Examples from the Web for compartmentalize

Contemporary Examples of compartmentalize

I feel less—or at least differently—divided, almost forced not to compartmentalize.
All the Arguments Are Jewish
Don Futterman
April 12, 2012

British Dictionary definitions for compartmentalize

compartmentalize

compartmentalise

verb

(usually tr) to put or divide into (compartments, categories, etc), esp to an excessive degree

Derived Formscompartmentalization or compartmentalisation, noun

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

Word Origin and History for compartmentalize

1918, from compartmental + -ize. Related: Compartmentalized; compartmentalizing.