medicalize

especially British, med·i·cal·ise

[med-i-kuh-lahyz]

verb (used with object)

medicalized, medicalizing 

1. to handle or accept as deserving of or appropriate for medical treatment.

Other Word Forms

• medicalization noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of medicalize¹

medical + -ize

Example Sentences

This is the reality of practicing pediatrics in America: We’re forced to medicalize what other countries prevent through policy.

Read more on Slate

While it’s trendy to either feverishly promote Ozempic, Wegovy or their many knock-off versions, or to dump on the whole idea, dismissing it as the product of a sick and bigoted society and corporations eager to medicalize anything they can, there’s far more to it than that.

Read more on Salon

But she also sees a temptation among public officials to villainize or medicalize loneliness— and to tout simplistic “solutions” to a complex and natural part of the human experience.

Read more on Science Magazine

I'd really love to see us cutting down on our need to medicalize and biologize every human experience.

Read more on Salon

Or does labeling people prediabetic merely “medicalize” a normal part of aging, creating needless anxiety for those already coping with multiple health problems?

Read more on New York Times