harmonize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become harmonious
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(tr) music to provide a harmony for (a melody, tune, etc)
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(intr) to sing in harmony, as with other singers
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to collate parallel narratives
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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harmonizationnoun
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harmonizernoun
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reharmonizeverb (used with object)
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unharmonizeverb (used with object)
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harmonizableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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harmonizesimple
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harmonizessimple
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have harmonizedperfect
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has harmonizedperfect
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am harmonizingprogressive
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are harmonizingprogressive
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is harmonizingprogressive
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have been harmonizingperfect progressive
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has been harmonizingperfect progressive
Past
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harmonizedsimple
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had harmonizedperfect
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was harmonizingprogressive
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were harmonizingprogressive
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had been harmonizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of harmonize
First recorded in 1475–85; late Middle English, also armonise, from Middle French harmoniser, equivalent to harmonie + -iser, verb suffix; see harmony, -ize
Explanation
When you harmonize different opinions or ideas, you bring them to some kind of agreement. It's challenging to harmonize the different interests of a whole classroom full of children, but that's part of what a good teacher does. When senators from different parties work together on a bill, they need to harmonize their different expectations and and priorities before they can come up with a good compromise. Another way to harmonize is to blend two singing voices or two instruments in a way that sounds pleasing. This is the oldest meaning of the word, which ultimately comes from the Greek harmonia, "concord of sounds" or "agreement."
Vocabulary lists containing harmonize
"Say It with Flowers" and "The Journey"
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-ize
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ize
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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.
See Examples For:
Regulators have been working on finalizing new capital standards for banks for years, the culmination of an international effort to harmonize capital requirements after the 2008 financial crisis.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
Becerra “basically took a very absent, low profile — didn’t show up, didn’t harmonize the remarkable infighting,” Topol said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
"One of the technical advances that we made in this work is to figure out how to harmonize all these different data modalities so they can come together to learn the same language," Zou said.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2026
Tony Xu, DoorDash’s chief executive, said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that the planned investments would help harmonize its tech infrastructure, after bringing those other delivery platforms under its wing.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2025
They would try to harmonize but always sounded kind of awful.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
“I am happy to see the CDC guidance that harmonizes the approach and gives people concrete information of what they can do everyday,” said Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s state epidemiologist.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
Kelce has just released a duet in which he trades verses and harmonizes with a very special person in his life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
Frontman Tony Lewis's voice is dynamic and empathetic, and he frequently harmonizes with guitarist-keyboardist John Spinks, creating lovely vocal flourishes.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2023
Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff harmonizes with Rose on the chorus, on which the pair dispense some bittersweet wisdom: “You know there’s no place safe to run/Angels surround everyone.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
And then Celia begins to laugh, a buoyant giggle that harmonizes with the din of the rain.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
The data calendar is light on Friday, although eurozone balance of payments data for May and final harmonized CPI data for June are due for release.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The research team used harmonized survey data collected between 2009 and 2023 through the Gateway to Global Aging Data project.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
The eurozone’s final harmonized CPI data for November is scheduled for Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025
Without harmonized reporting and uniform definitions, the data will not provide an accurate overview of political violence in the U.S.
From Salon ● Sep. 20, 2025
Do-o-o-own To-o-o-o-own, harmonized the girls in a grand finale.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Among them: unifying capital markets, harmonizing corporate regulations and coordinating research and development spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
Each element should layer on top of the others, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes clashing just enough to make every bite sing.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2025
Volman and high-school pal Howard Kaylan rose to fame with the ‘60s pop classic ‘Happy Together,’ then spent years as the harmonizing duo Flo & Eddie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2025
Yungblud joined Tyler for the tribute’s grand finale, harmonizing and trading lines to finish out the emotional power ballad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2025
And then Tiny takes a step forward and joins him, harmonizing, and they launch into the greatest musical song I've ever heard.
From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan
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.
