personalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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personalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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personalized,
past participle, past
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personalizing
present participle
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to have marked with one's initials, name, or monogram.
to personalize stationery.
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to make personal, as by applying a general statement to oneself.
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to ascribe personal qualities to; personify.
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to design or tailor to meet an individual's specifications, needs, or preferences.
a personalized search engine;
personalized learning.
verb
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to endow with personal or individual qualities or characteristics
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to mark (stationery, clothing, etc) with a person's initials, name, etc
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to take (a remark, etc) personally
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another word for personify
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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personalizesimple
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personalizessimple
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have personalizedperfect
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has personalizedperfect
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am personalizingprogressive
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are personalizingprogressive
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is personalizingprogressive
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have been personalizingperfect progressive
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has been personalizingperfect progressive
Past
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personalizedsimple
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had personalizedperfect
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was personalizingprogressive
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were personalizingprogressive
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had been personalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of personalize
Explanation
To personalize is to design something (or change it) so it's distinctly suited for one specific individual. You can personalize your locker by taping up family photos, or personalize your water bottle by writing your name on it in permanent marker. The verb personalize is often used to mean "make to meet your specific requirements," so a hotel might personalize your visit by leaving a note with chocolates on your pillow, or a barista might personalize your latte with a design on top that's specially made for you. You can also personalize things by putting a person's name or initials on them: "I bought letter patches so we can personalize our backpacks."
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:
In a new enforcement bulletin released Wednesday, the commission told companies that they must disclose when they use highly detailed information about individuals to personalize a price offer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The company said it does not engage in surveillance pricing, nor does it personalize fares for individual customers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
"We and others have developed technology that could be used to both personalize and deliver this intervention in a clinical setting using mobile sensors, like smartphone video and a 'smart shoe'," Uhlrich said.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
“By stripping out the ability to personalize or target them, you’re not really saving discounts at all,” Drew Ambrogi, a policy manager at Chamber of Progress, said in an interview with Salon.
From Salon ● May 18, 2026
There were names carved on the bunks and magazine advertisements stuck onto nails in the walls, as if the women had tried to personalize the place, but it did not help.
From "The Devil's Arithmetic" by Jane Yolen
Your image of the virtual self personalizes your financial journey.
From MarketWatch ● May 12, 2026
Cincinnati-based Kroger is testing Google’s shopping agent, which helps customers compare grocery items, personalizes their shopping experience and can handle purchasing, according to Yael Cosset, the company’s chief digital officer and executive vice president.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
Laughton effectively embodies and personalizes the deeply felt dialectic between Alex and Jesse.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2025
"It not only simplifies treatment by exploring single-dose schedules of antibody-drug conjugates but can also reduce side effects by minimizing the number of doses required. Additionally, it personalizes therapy using molecular imaging, enhancing treatment efficacy."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 13, 2023
The essence of the divine is Love, Will that personalizes and eternalizes, that feels the hunger for eternity and infinity.
From Tragic Sense Of Life by J. E. Crawford (John Ernest Crawford) Flitch
Moderna and Merck’s personalized cancer vaccine could transform cancer treatment and create a multibillion-dollar market, but investors may already be pricing in much of its potential.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
"We hope oral health assessment may eventually become part of personalized risk stratification and perioperative management for pancreatic cancer patients."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Unlike traditional vaccines, Moderna’s therapeutic cancer vaccine must be personalized to each patient, meaning it will be costly to make.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Even as Cash App looks to make Tags more widespread, there is still a market for smaller sellers hawking personalized accessories.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026
That I might have actually died, and that he’s a figment of my imagination in a personalized heaven.
From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender
Millions of Americans have tried the drugs, which have revolutionized the way physicians treat weight loss, but personalizing who gets which drugs is still a long way off — if it ever happens.
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
You can do a lot, even just with your own personalizing of the app, to remind yourself that we’re all human in the end, and human interaction is also very healthy for us all.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 11, 2025
The findings are a major step in personalizing cancer treatment and inspiring novel therapies that target and inhibit ARID1A and its protein complex.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024
And once you — and I’m personalizing this now, because the film requires this of its audience — once you have these things, what are you willing to disassociate from in order to keep them?
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2023
Grandma had stitched illustrations of my palm print into the dashiki, personalizing it to me.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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.
