harmonize

[ hahr-muh-nahyz ]

/ ˈhɑr məˌnaɪz /

verb (used with object), har·mo·nized, har·mo·niz·ing.

to bring into harmony, accord, or agreement: to harmonize one's views with the new situation.

Music. to accompany with appropriate harmony.

verb (used without object), har·mo·nized, har·mo·niz·ing.

to be in agreement in action, sense, or feeling: Though of different political parties, all the delegates harmonized on civil rights.

to sing in harmony.

Nearby words

Also especially British, har·mo·nise.

Origin of harmonize

1475–85; earlier armonise < Middle French harmoniser. See harmony, -ize

SYNONYMS FOR harmonize

1. reconcile, compose. 3. agree, accord.

Related forms

har·mo·niz·a·ble, adjectivehar·mo·ni·za·tion, nounhar·mo·niz·er, nounre·har·mo·nize, verb (used with object), re·har·mo·nized, re·har·mo·niz·ing.

un·har·mo·nize, verb (used with object), un·har·mo·nized, un·har·mo·niz·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for harmonise

It was reserved for Rationalism to accept and harmonise the double truth, and to wage war against both infallibilities.
The Book Of God|G. W. Foote
The houses are therefore daubed with blue, yellow, and red, which harmonise as they may with the green background.
South America To-day|Georges Clemenceau
This is one of the artificial sounds which, like distant chimes, harmonise with rural scenes.
Birds and Man|W. H. Hudson
To harmonise B 17 with the real teaching of the Critique, it must be entirely recast.
A Commentary to Kant's 'Critique of Pure Reason'|Norman Kemp Smith

The furniture is not gaudily rich, but elegant enough to harmonise with the decorations.
Lola Montez|Edmund B. d'Auvergne

British Dictionary definitions for harmonise

harmonize

harmonise

/ (ˈhɑːməˌnaɪz) /

verb

to make or become harmonious

(tr) music to provide a harmony for (a melody, tune, etc)

(intr) to sing in harmony, as with other singers

to collate parallel narratives

Derived Formsharmonizable or harmonisable, adjective

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 harmonise

harmonize

late 15c., "play or sing in harmony," from French harmoniser (15c.), from Old French harmonie (see harmony). Meaning "be in harmony" is from 1620s; that of "bring into agreement" is from 1727. Related: Harmonized; harmonizing.