focalize

American

[foh-kuh-lahyz] / ˈfoʊ kəˌlaɪz /

especially British, focalise

verb (used with or without object)

focalized, focalizing

to bring or come to focus.
to localize.

focalize British

/ ˈfəʊkəˌlaɪz /

verb

a less common word for focus

"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

Other Word Forms

defocalization noun
focalization noun

Etymology

Origin of focalize

First recorded in 1835–45; focal + -ize

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.

It can be especially useful for evaluating illnesses that do not necessarily have a focalized lesion, such as in psychiatry.

From Scientific American

The ethical problem of that crisis, beyond mere political organization, remains the same as the one that animates “The Nevada Test Site”: How do we focalize our little lives in relation to the world?

From The New Yorker

All my motions focalized on pretending to be that guileless schoolgirl who had nothing more wearying to think about than mid-term exams.

From Literature

When using the app, words are presented one at a time, in the exact spot where our gaze is “focalized,” or primed for visual recognition.

From Time

Between the ages of 40 and 50, the crystalline lenses of his eyes having hardened along with the other tissues of his body, he finds it impossible to focalize as he used to.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023