indigenize

American  

[in-dij-uh-nahyz] / ɪnˈdɪdʒ əˌnaɪz /

especially British, indigenise

verb (used with object)

indigenized, indigenizing

1. to make indigenous.

2. to increase local participation in or ownership of.

   to indigenize foreign-owned companies.

3. to adapt (beliefs, customs, etc.) to local ways.

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Other Word Forms

• indigenization noun

Etymology

Origin of indigenize

First recorded in 1950–55; indigen(ous) + -ize

Example Sentences

State-backed researchers also identified digital payments as particularly vulnerable to possible Western hacking, according to a review of their work, making a push to indigenize such technology likely.

From Reuters • Oct. 26, 2023

“We’re trying to indigenize this field,” Sweet said, adding that it’s “not about putting Native people under a microscope, but educating people by working toward goals like upholding sovereignty.”

From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2022

There have been fleeting and feeble attempts in Latin America to indigenize the Christmas gift-bringer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2016