Hellenize

American  

[hel-uh-nahyz] / ˈhɛl əˌnaɪz /

especially British, Hellenise

verb (used with object)

Hellenized, Hellenizing

1. to make Greek in character.

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verb (used without object)

Hellenized, Hellenizing

1. to adopt Greek ideas or customs.

Hellenize British  

/ ˈhɛlɪˌnaɪz /

verb

1. to make or become like the ancient Greeks

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Other Word Forms

• Hellenization
  noun
• Hellenizer
  noun
• de-Hellenize
  verb

Etymology

Origin of Hellenize

First recorded in 1605–15, Hellenize is from the Greek word Hellēnízein to imitate the Greeks, speak Greek. See Hellene, -ize

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Hellenize Hellenized Hellenizing

But unlike the early Christians, who had freed themselves to interpret parts of the Old Testament as metaphor, Maimonides was unwilling to Hellenize his religion completely.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

Lycon of Lacedæmon to Democrates of Athens, greeting:—Can he who Medizes in the summer Hellenize in the spring?

From A Victor of Salamis by Davis, William Stearns

He set himself to Hellenize or Catholicize Armenian Christianity, and in furtherance of this aim set up a hierarchy officially dependent on the Cappadocian.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various

The native kings had done much to Hellenize Cappadocia, which had previously received a strong Iranian colour; but it was left to Christianity to complete their work.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 3 "Capefigue" to "Carneades" by Various

They did not abolish the individuality of either; they did not Hellenize even so much of West Asia as they succeeded in holding to the end.

From The Ancient East by Hogarth, D. G. (David George)

Eventually, the brutal repression of Jews who remained in their homeland led to the collapse of the Hellenized Jewish communities throughout the Roman Empire.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 15, 2022

His last name — Adetokunbo — was Hellenized when he finally became a citizen of Greece and received his passport, one month before the Bucks drafted him 15th in 2013.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 23, 2021

Some speculate that, by the time of the Second Temple, many Jews were Hellenized, and early converts to Christianity were merely borrowing standard Dionysian rites.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 7, 2019

This Hellenized Documenta is sometimes forceful, often obscure, and in places exhaustingly proud of itself.

From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2017

With its advance the native languages and old religions gradually disappeared, and at last the whole country was thoroughly Hellenized, and the people united by identity of language and religion.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various

"We are Hellenizing you at a great rate."

From The Damnation of Theron Ware by Frederic, Harold

This hierarchical tie was soon snapped, but the Hellenizing influence continued to work, and bore its most abundant fruit in the 5th century.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various

The one great instance of assimilation of foreign nationalities by the Greeks is the Hellenizing of the Slavs, who from the 6th century had migrated into central Greece and the Peloponnese.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 5 "Greek Law" to "Ground-Squirrel" by Various

Indeed, the plans of Alexander embraced nothing less than the union and Hellenizing of the world.

From General History for Colleges and High Schools by Myers, Philip Van Ness

The poem, 'The Gods of Greece,' contributed to the Merkur in March, 1788, marks the beginning of his Hellenizing.

From The Life and Works of Friedrich Schiller by Thomas, Calvin