denaturalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to deprive of proper or true nature; make unnatural.
-
to deprive of the rights and privileges of citizenship or of naturalization.
verb
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to deprive of nationality
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to make unnatural
Other Word Forms
- denaturalization noun
Etymology
Origin of denaturalize
First recorded in 1790–1800; de- + naturalize
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.
The federal government has to meet a high burden of proof when attempting to denaturalize a citizen, plus it can only proceed by a judicial order.
From Slate • Apr. 16, 2025
As attorney general, Mr. Civiletti successfully argued before the Supreme Court for the government’s right to denaturalize Nazi war criminals.
From New York Times • Oct. 17, 2022
What I want to do by putting “the Internet” in quotation marks is to denaturalize some of the assumptions we make for granted—for those assumptions have consequences.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 2013
Demjanjuk's legal troubles began in 1977, when the Government initiated a proceeding to denaturalize him.
From Time • Mar. 22, 2012
Christianity does not denaturalize, but only sanctifies and refines according to the laws of nature.
From A Short History of Monks and Monasteries by Wishart, Alfred Wesley
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.
