deputize

[dep-yuh-tahyz]

See more synonyms for deputize on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), dep·u·tized, dep·u·tiz·ing.

to appoint as deputy.

verb (used without object), dep·u·tized, dep·u·tiz·ing.

to act as a deputy; substitute.

Also especially British, dep·u·tise.

Origin of deputize

First recorded in 1720–30; deput(y) + -ize

Related formsdep·u·ti·za·tion, nounde-dep·u·tize, verb (used with object), de-dep·u·tized, de-dep·u·tiz·ing.un·dep·u·tized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for deputize

authorize, consign, commission, delegate, mandate, entrust, assign, depute

Examples from the Web for deputize

Contemporary Examples of deputize

Another has Mubarak deputize his vice president and step down in all but name.
Egypt Uprising: The Latest News and Photos
The Daily Beast
January 31, 2011

Historical Examples of deputize

He bent his eyes on Bob: “Better get Brush to deputize you to make the arrest.”
The Mountain Divide
Frank H. Spearman
"All you got to do is to do what I deputize you to do," he said quietly.
Anderson Crow, Detective
George Barr McCutcheon
The Sheriff denied that he had promised to deputize the Pinkertons.
Homestead
Arthur G. Burgoyne
Now I deny that Congress can deputize its legislative powers.
Thirty Years' View (Vol. I of 2)
Thomas Hart Benton
Miss Pierson, I deputize you to gather up the stray sunbeams for me that memory may have a regal crown to wear when I am far away.
Lily Pearl and The Mistress of Rosedale
Ida Glenwood

British Dictionary definitions for deputize

deputize

deputise

verb

to appoint or act as deputy

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

Word Origin and History for deputize

1730s; see deputy + -ize. Related: Deputized; deputizing.