demonetize

[ dee-mon-i-tahyz, -muhn- ]

verb (used with object),de·mon·e·tized, de·mon·e·tiz·ing.
  1. to divest (a monetary standard or the like) of value.

  2. to withdraw (money or the like) from use.

  1. to deprive (an issue of postage stamps) of validity by legal methods and without marking the stamps themselves.

Origin of demonetize

1
From the French word démonétiser, dating back to 1850–55. See de-, monetize
  • Also especially British, de·mon·e·tise .

Other words from demonetize

  • de·mon·e·ti·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use demonetize in a sentence

  • He's our greatest authority on the demonetization of wampum.

    The Main Chance | Meredith Nicholson
  • The demonetization of groceries is doing as much toward the general wiggly palsy of trade as anything I know of.

    Remarks | Bill Nye
  • The financial managers threw gold out of use and then urged its non-use as a reason for its demonetization.

    If Not Silver, What? | John W. Bookwalter
  • But suppose there had been a general demonetization of gold instead of silver, how would the ratio have stood then?

    If Not Silver, What? | John W. Bookwalter
  • And with this the people began to get at the true reason—the general demonetization by so many nations.

    If Not Silver, What? | John W. Bookwalter

British Dictionary definitions for demonetize

demonetize

demonetise

/ (diːˈmʌnɪˌtaɪz) /


verb(tr)
  1. to deprive (a metal) of its capacity as a monetary standard

  2. to withdraw from use as currency

Derived forms of demonetize

  • demonetization or demonetisation, 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