individualize

[ in-duh-vij-oo-uh-lahyz ]

verb (used with object),in·di·vid·u·al·ized, in·di·vid·u·al·iz·ing.
  1. to make individual or distinctive; give an individual or distinctive character to.

  2. to mention, indicate, or consider individually; specify; particularize.

Origin of individualize

1
First recorded in 1630–40; individual + -ize
  • Also especially British, in·di·vid·u·al·ise .

Other words from individualize

  • in·di·vid·u·al·i·za·tion, noun
  • in·di·vid·u·al·iz·er, noun
  • o·ver·in·di·vid·u·al·i·za·tion, noun
  • un·in·di·vid·u·al·ized, adjective

Words Nearby individualize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use individualize in a sentence

  • The more extreme technical practitioners may so over-individualize this collective art as to make it almost unendurable.

    Language | Edward Sapir
  • Here design to individualize the living-room comes into play, and is most conspicuous for good or for evil effect.

    Needlework As Art | Marian Alford
  • Of course skill was needed to individualize the symbol, but that is what caricaturists propose to themselves.

    Picture and Text | Henry James
  • For the first and foremost effect of the tropics is to individualize things.

    The Pacific Triangle | Sydney Greenbie
  • The only sure rule is to individualize the cases and make an exact diagnosis.

    Psychotherapy | James J. Walsh

British Dictionary definitions for individualize

individualize

individualise

/ (ˌɪndɪˈvɪdjʊəˌlaɪz) /


verb(tr)
  1. to make or mark as individual or distinctive in character

  2. to consider or treat individually; particularize

  1. to make or modify so as to meet the special requirements of a person

Derived forms of individualize

  • individualization or individualisation, noun
  • individualizer or individualiser, noun

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