institutionalize

[ in-sti-too-shuh-nl-ahyz, -tyoo- ]

verb (used with object)

, in·sti·tu·tion·al·ized, in·sti·tu·tion·al·iz·ing.

1. to make institutional.
2. to make into or treat as an institution:

   the danger of institutionalizing racism.

3. to place or confine in an institution, especially one for the care of mental illness, alcoholism, etc.

institutionalize

/ ˌɪnstɪˈtjuːʃənəˌlaɪz /

verb

1. tr; often passive to subject to the deleterious effects of confinement in an institution

   a mental patient who was institutionalized into boredom and apathy

2. tr to place in an institution
3. to make or become an institution

Derived Forms

• ˌinstiˌtutionaliˈzation, noun

Other Words From

• in·sti·tu·tion·al·i·za·tion [in-sti-too-sh, uh, -nl-ahy-, zey, -sh, uh, n, -tyoo-], noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of institutionalize¹

First recorded in 1860–65; institutional + -ize

Example Sentences

That sin was the institutionalized system of the enforced, confined education of children descended from the original Americans in order to purge them of everything that made them Indian.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, we are bracing for the start of institutionalized violence from above.

From Salon

But those cuts are less likely to matter to the polemicists who will not experience the institutionalized cruelties firsthand.

From Salon

With his mother institutionalized, Jones said, he began to run the streets.

From Los Angeles Times

“It has become institutionalized. I call it institutional racism.”

From Salon

Related Words

• regulate