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 senator’s ability to compartmentalize, once his political superpower, became his ruin, morphing into outright denial.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Whether it’s a blockbuster trade that brought Doncic to L.A. or an untimely injury that sidelines the superstar guard at the most important time of the season, Redick is able to compartmentalize each day’s mission.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 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
We compartmentalize this grief and outrage into the corners of our private lives.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2025
Did some try to block it all out, compartmentalize, imagine that it was only one more day?
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
“He compartmentalizes it,” Van Scoyoc said of Betts’ past postseason failures.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2024
Whenever Casserly goes on TV, he said, he compartmentalizes his different jobs.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2019
She walks out of the living room when her brother compartmentalizes her legal battle and watches the Saints on television.
From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2019
He’s said that he compartmentalizes, so that if he’s with you, he’s just Dennis.
From Slate ● Feb. 12, 2019
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
But her character’s role is somewhat earnestly compartmentalized.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
Instead, from the very beginning, the law compartmentalized requirements of parental involvement in some contexts and inconsistently applied those requirements in others.
From Slate ● Mar. 12, 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
He had compartmentalized my bad experience into two defined reactions.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
There has long been speculation that Graham’s capacity for compartmentalizing also extended to his personal life.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
But far from compartmentalizing his faith, as many entertainers do, he speaks of it often, just as he speaks of his family, both being a vital part of who he is.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 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
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.
