homogenize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to form by blending unlike elements; make homogeneous.
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to prepare an emulsion, as by reducing the size of the fat globules in (milk or cream) in order to distribute them equally throughout.
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to make uniform or similar, as in composition or function.
to homogenize school systems.
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Metallurgy. to subject (metal) to high temperature to ensure uniform diffusion of components.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to break up the fat globules in (milk or cream) so that they are evenly distributed
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to make or become homogeneous
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of homogenize
First recorded in 1885–90; homogen(eous) + -ize
Explanation
To homogenize is to make something the same, or similar. When dairies homogenize milk, they mix it so the cream isn't separate from the rest of the milk, but instead all the liquid is the same consistency. When food processors homogenize milk, they make it uniform or alike, and when circumstances homogenize a neighborhood or school, the result is a group of people who generally all resemble each other. You might complain that high rents and gentrification in your town have homogenized it, leaving only wealthy professionals able to afford to live there. The Greek root, homogenes, means "of the same kind."
Vocabulary lists containing homogenize
Fast Food Nation
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A Culinary Vocabulary Sampler
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"Simon's Saga," Vocabulary from Episode 27
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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.
“Crash” eschewed Charli’s typical boundary-pushing electronic sound to aim for something notably more commercial, and, ever the rebel, Charli attempted to homogenize this marketable music with visual ideas that were more to her own taste.
From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026
"We tried to homogenize the point density equally year by year to make comparative metrics," Choi said.
From Science Daily • Feb. 6, 2024
This has happened before, of course — the moment when Twitter turned from good-faith salon to sinister outrage derby, or when Instagram, and its army of influencers, learned to homogenize joy and beauty.
From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2024
There is no real ability to homogenize a plate of food in a restaurant.’”
From The Verge • Apr. 1, 2019
These documents are the expression of the need to unify, homogenize, and integrate forces in a world of relatively autonomous entities-national states-competing more for resources and productive forces than for markets.
From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai
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.
