democratize
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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de-democratizationnoun
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democratizationnoun
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democratizernoun
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redemocratizationnoun
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undemocratizationnoun
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de-democratizeverb
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redemocratizeverb
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undemocratizeverb (used with object)
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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democratizesimple
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democratizessimple
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have democratizedperfect
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has democratizedperfect
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am democratizingprogressive
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are democratizingprogressive
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is democratizingprogressive
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have been democratizingperfect progressive
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has been democratizingperfect progressive
Past
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democratizedsimple
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had democratizedperfect
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was democratizingprogressive
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were democratizingprogressive
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had been democratizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of democratize
1790–1800; < French démocratiser, equivalent to démocrate democrat + -iser -ize
Explanation
To democratize is to make an organization more democratic, supporting a system in which all citizens have a voice or a vote. When you democratize your school French club, you allow every member to vote on each decision. You'll most often see the verb democratize in the context of world politics, when countries that have historically not been democracies change their governments to be more democratic. In many cases, other countries, such as the U.S., try to influence such governments to make this change: they democratize them, in other words. The word democratize comes from the Greek root demokratia, "popular government," from demos, "common people," and kratos, "rule."
Vocabulary lists containing democratize
We the People: Dem
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-cracy, -crat
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Comparative Political Systems
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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:
An alliance including Microsoft and SpaceX aims to democratize cybersecurity and counter security concerns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Some of these platforms have become key players treating the millions of Americans taking GLP-1s to lose weight, and they have helped democratize access to GLP-1 medications, which provide health benefits far beyond weight loss.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 7, 2026
The cord-cutting revolution was supposed to democratize television, liberating citizens from corporate gatekeepers.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Tech companies promising to "democratize" football are launching apps that allow young players to upload videos recorded on their phone of them showcasing their ball skills.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
He never had an imperious young autocrat to democratize.
From The Prairie Mother by Becher, Arthur E.
It democratizes constitutional enforcement because it poses the simplest and most urgent question: Does the state have actual grounds to take away this person’s liberty?
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
It democratizes royal dignity, extending it to everyone—man and woman, slave and sovereign, each bearing inestimable worth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
The business partners said their service-charge model democratizes a dining staff’s earnings for everyone in their restaurants, and that customers are offered information that states the fee is not a tip.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2023
“It democratizes the commercial world and allows smaller brands to get a broader audience than they would otherwise,” he says.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
I think that what having this as a docuseries does is, in some ways, democratizes access.
From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2023
Nadella advocates for democratized AI deployment, emphasizing job reorganization over elimination and shared societal benefits.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Even more profoundly, cassettes democratized access to the act of recording itself since cassette technology required minimal infrastructure and cost.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
“It really democratized beauty during that period, because of creators teaching people how to achieve professional-grade makeup looks in their own homes,” Canaves said.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
Southwest long touted its no-frills flying model and more democratized approach to seating, while poking at rivals that charged for checked bags and upgrades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
He had reduced private ownership of land, nationalized certain sectors of the economy, pioneered rapid industrialization, democratized education, and built a modem army.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
And just as democratizing access to the internet was a policy concern in the 2000s, ensuring that people can easily get offline is becoming a focus of this era.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
AI is democratizing access to capabilities in ways we have not seen before.
From MarketWatch ● May 7, 2026
Advocates position prediction markets as democratizing finance and investment opportunities, arguing they allow individuals to “transform your insights and predictions about the future into tangible assets.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
The change in approach stirred disagreements within the company, Quirk said, particularly among employees who thought that focusing on frequent traders was at odds with Robinhood’s mission of democratizing finance for all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
Barack and I knew we wanted to do a better job of democratizing the White House, making it feel less elitist and more open.
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.
