democratize
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- de-democratization noun
- de-democratize verb
- democratization noun
- democratizer noun
- redemocratization noun
- redemocratize verb
- undemocratization noun
- undemocratize verb (used with object)
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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Comparative Political Systems
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-cracy, -crat
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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.
Plus, the institutions say, it’s serving a more lofty goal: to democratize an art world that often feels exclusionary.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 14, 2025
"Training cutting-edge models now requires infrastructure investments that only a handful of organizations can afford," AWS said, positioning Trainium3 as a way to democratize access to high-powered AI computing.
From Barron's • Dec. 2, 2025
"We want to democratize gene therapy by creating off-the-shelf tools that can cure a large group of patients in one shot," Finkelstein said.
From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2025
“The space shuttle program really helped to democratize spaceflight.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2025
Almost nothing has been done to democratize administration.
From Political Ideals by Russell, Bertrand
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.
