memorialize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to commemorate.
-
to present a memorial to.
verb
-
to honour or commemorate
-
to present or address a memorial to
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
memorializesimple
-
memorializessimple
-
have memorializedperfect
-
has memorializedperfect
-
am memorializingprogressive
-
are memorializingprogressive
-
is memorializingprogressive
-
have been memorializingperfect progressive
-
has been memorializingperfect progressive
Past
-
memorializedsimple
-
had memorializedperfect
-
was memorializingprogressive
-
were memorializingprogressive
-
had been memorializingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of memorialize
Explanation
When you memorialize something, you honor it or do something so it will be remembered. If you want to remember a summer trip taken with friends, you could make a photo album full of the pictures you took to memorialize it. The word memorialize often is used in relation to someone or something that has passed away or even to a group of connected individuals who have perished. You might see a monument, for example, that memorializes victims of an earthquake, meaning pays tribute to them. You can also memorialize someone in a speech, meaning you tell about the person's life and describe how he or she has affected others.
Vocabulary lists containing memorialize
Total Recall: Mem
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
2014 Vocabulary Video Contest (M-Z)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
How do you memorialize an architect, even a widely admired one?
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
In the belly of a whale at a jazz venue in Little Tokyo, early 2014, I gathered with Fred Moten, Kima Jones and others to memorialize Amiri Baraka a week or so after his death.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 28, 2026
Self-proclaimed Parrot Heads—who still slap stickers on the building and leave flip-flops, salt shakers and other assorted memorabilia outside as a shrine to sunny good times—want instead to memorialize the studio forever.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026
Every year, Amicus co-hosts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern invite listeners to nominate the Supreme Court’s most egregious behavior, then choose their own “worst of the worst” to memorialize the most ignominious moments.
From Slate • Jan. 3, 2026
Since the day she died, I’ve felt that Lucy was only mine to memorialize and that if I faltered, I’d be letting her down in the worst kind of way.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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.
