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musicalize

American  
[myoo-zi-kuh-lahyz] / ˈmju zɪ kəˌlaɪz /
especially British, musicalise

verb (used with object)

musicalized, musicalizing
  1. to write or produce a musical version of (a book, play, etc.).

    an attempt to musicalize one of Shakespeare's comedies.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of musicalize

First recorded in 1915–20; musical + -ize

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.

See Examples For:

How to musicalize such a state of transition?

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 20, 2025

If you’re going to musicalize a horror movie, “Teeth” is a doozy, and a gamble.

From New York Times Mar. 4, 2024

More than 30 years into a convention-shattering career, Sondheim still raised eyebrows when he announced he was about to musicalize the likes of John Hinckley Jr. and John Wilkes Booth.

From New York Times Nov. 28, 2021

“But in Sarah’s play, Orpheus is a normal dude, a pretty immature one, and not super communicative — a frustrating boyfriend. I wanted to musicalize both his doubleness and that there’s something Eurydice can’t see.”

From New York Times Jan. 31, 2020

Because in Musical Theater Writing 101, they say, “Only musicalize something if the piece demands to be a musical.”

From New York Times Oct. 10, 2018

Gallagher spent much of what would have been his prime college years — from 20 to 23 — starring in the original, envelop-pushing Broadway show that musicalized teen angst.

From Seattle Times May 3, 2022

She loved how Aucoin musicalized the pain of the story, but also its humor.

From Washington Post Nov. 17, 2021

“When I was 17, I rewrote the songs for a musicalized version of ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost,’” Mr. Minchin said.

From New York Times Mar. 15, 2017

"Allegro" tells, in a musicalized "Our Town" manner, the story of a doctor's son from birth through medical school to adult disillusionment.

From Los Angeles Times Nov. 19, 2014

He popularized, vulgarized, and musicalized the great traditions of English tragedy, and passed them along to the nineteenth century as the possession of the illegitimate drama.

From Tragedy by Thorndike, Ashley H.

“We’ve spent the past three years musicalizing the Warriors’ journey home, from the South Bronx to Coney Island,” Miranda and Davis said in a joint statement.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 1, 2024

In musicalizing Lynn Nottage’s play of the same title, Ricky Ian Gordon, working with a text by Nottage herself, wants more for Esther than a quick dance and a slick tune.

From New York Times Jan. 31, 2022

Even while musicalizing Shakespeare for the Public Theater, she is writing her own show, about the women’s suffrage movement, backed by one of the lead producers of “Hamilton.”

From New York Times Jul. 27, 2018

It helps that Frank and Boeck are well matched, with Frank beautifully embodying Wendla's anguished vulnerability and Boeck sweetly musicalizing her tender spirit.

From Los Angeles Times May 29, 2015

But if musicalizing Sunset Boulevard does not detract, it does not add much either.

From Time Magazine Archive

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