normalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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normalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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normalized,
past participle, past
-
normalizing
present participle
-
to make normal.
Traditional Chinese medicine uses ginseng to normalize blood pressure.
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to cause (something previously considered abnormal or unacceptable) to be treated as normal.
I have to resist the impulse to normalize her eccentricities.
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to establish or resume (relations) in a normal manner, as between countries.
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Statistics. to mathematically transform or adjust (the values in a data set) so that they fit a standard measure or scale, such as by making all the values fall between 0 and 1.
Data was normalized before analysis.
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Metallurgy. to heat (a steel alloy) to a suitable temperature above the transformation range and then cool it in still air at ambient temperature.
verb (used without object)
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normalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
normalized,
past participle, past
-
normalizing
present participle
verb
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to bring or make into the normal state
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to bring into conformity with a standard
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to heat (steel) above a critical temperature and allow it to cool in air to relieve internal stresses; anneal
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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denormalizationnoun
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normalizationnoun
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overnormalizationnoun
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renormalizationnoun
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overnormalizeverb (used with object)
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renormalizeverb (used with object)
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unnormalizedadjective
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unnormalizingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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normalizesimple
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normalizessimple
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have normalizedperfect
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has normalizedperfect
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am normalizingprogressive
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are normalizingprogressive
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is normalizingprogressive
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have been normalizingperfect progressive
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has been normalizingperfect progressive
Past
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normalizedsimple
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had normalizedperfect
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was normalizingprogressive
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were normalizingprogressive
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had been normalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of normalize
Explanation
If it's out of whack, totally crazy and absolutely bizarre, it should probably be normalized, or put back into a normal state. Something that's been normalized has been put back to normal, whether you're talking about the weather pattern or your sleep habits. Someone who likes to keep things in order is probably a fan of the word normalize. Stock brokers, for example, hate it when the stock market takes them on a wild, unpredictable ride; they'd much rather have things normalize and settle down.
Vocabulary lists containing normalize
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 5–September 11, 2026
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Carrie Brownstein on "Inchoate" Youth and the Search for "Trenchant" Meaning
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Novel Study: Refugee, Pages 171–338
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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:
The only way to normalize it is we have to get comfortable talking about like it is not something different.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Bloomberg Intelligence’s Yilmaz, meanwhile, said that if refining margins continue to normalize, that should eventually translate into some relief for wholesale and retail fuel prices.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
“I won’t normalize somebody who said my childhood is just something I’m complaining about,” Acton said in a Tuesday appearance on Spectrum News.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
Tel Aviv has been one of FlyDubai’s key destinations since the U.A.E. and Israel agreed to normalize relations in 2020.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
“I must point out that the move I have taken provides you with the opportunity to overcome the current deadlock, and to normalize the country’s political situation. I hope you will seize it without delay.”
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
“We therefore assume macro-policy hedge demand for gold – reflected in call-option demand – normalizes toward its historical average rather than returning to the elevated levels seen earlier this year,” they wrote.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026
Fitch reckons Meituan’s leading market position in China’s local-services sector and efficiency edge against its competitors should support its recovery once competition normalizes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
“Our biggest call…on the assumption of an unrestricted Hormuz, is that the oil market normalizes far quicker than consensus expects,” Macquarie strategist Peter Taylor wrote in a research note.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
“It normalizes the use of AI replicas and synthetic performers rather than drawing a firm line protecting human performers and their jobs,” said Chuck Slavin, a background actor and performer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Nichols normalizes the text, spells out several names in full, and adds several unimportant notes.
From Two Poems Against Pope One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope and the Blatant Beast by J. V. (Joseph V.) Guerinot
The new Vision returns to a lonely, disconnected world where AI companions are an increasing part of our lives, if not entirely normalized.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
But he said he thinks expectations have now normalized after the miss in the second quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 22, 2026
Newspaper ads for brides were normalized and proliferated in 19th century America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
The combination of a good proportion of diabetics getting back to normalized glucose levels and achieving sustained weight loss with enicepatide give the drug a competitive profile, Schneider says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
It was a breathtaking moment, for in one sweeping action he had virtually normalized the situation in South Africa.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
By the end, he managed to orchestrate the Abraham Accords, an agreement normalizing diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Israel.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
Rubner flagged more signs of a normalizing market.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
Glencore had guided to the unit’s performance normalizing in the second half of the year but there is clearly upside given that energy market dislocations continue, LaFemina writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
These accords involve Arab or Muslim countries normalizing relations with Israel.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
“It’s not normalizing anything if everyone just pretends they don't see it or that the tampons don't exist.”
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
