normalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
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
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
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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Free Period
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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.
“A cease-fire may reopen shipping lanes, it does not immediately replenish inventories, restore damaged infrastructure or normalize trade flows.”
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
It simply makes intrusion easier to normalize because machines rather than officers perform the searching.
From Slate • May 20, 2026
Oakley said the lengthy time needed to normalize the energy market after the Iran war is still going unrecognized on Wall Street.
From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026
“Activity-based fee income can take several quarters to normalize following a market dislocation,” Sixth Street Specialty Lending Chief Executive Bo Stanley told analysts.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 16, 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
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.
