popularize
Americanverb (used with object)
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popularizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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popularized,
past participle, past
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popularizing
present participle
verb
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to make popular; make attractive to the general public
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to make or cause to become easily understandable or acceptable
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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popularizationnoun
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popularizernoun
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repopularizationnoun
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depopularizeverb (used with object)
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repopularizeverb (used with object)
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antipopularizationadjective
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semipopularizedadjective
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unpopularizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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popularizesimple
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popularizessimple
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have popularizedperfect
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has popularizedperfect
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am popularizingprogressive
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are popularizingprogressive
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is popularizingprogressive
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have been popularizingperfect progressive
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has been popularizingperfect progressive
Past
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popularizedsimple
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had popularizedperfect
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was popularizingprogressive
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were popularizingprogressive
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had been popularizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of popularize
Vocabulary lists containing popularize
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:
On one hand, the movies helped popularize modified Japanese cars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
Sports columnist Bill Simmons, who helped popularize the format, recently moved his podcasts to the platform in January as part of a deal with Spotify.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2026
Since Robinhood helped popularize commission-free trading, introducing a new generation of investors to buying and selling securities on their smartphones, trading volumes in U.S. equity options have exploded.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
In a similar vein to the 1992 Olympics' mesmerizing "Dream Team" of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird, the 75-year-old All-Star Game has historically helped popularize the NBA worldwide.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
It came about because Kepler wrote one of the first works of science fiction, intended to explain and popularize science.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Ultimately, gaming may well end up being what popularizes the metaverse.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2022
Since then more than 15 million people have watched the documentary on Upworthy, which aggregates and popularizes videos and other online content.
From BusinessWeek ● Aug. 1, 2013
He’s been on his own now for a couple of decades, a philosopher-showman with an immense following whose art popularizes Post-Minimalism’s strategies with the use of big, accessible themes.
From New York Times ● Nov. 19, 2010
Under Johnson's leadership, Fidelity popularizes the mutual funds that bring millions of small investors into the stock market, in time for the 12-year bull run that adds more than $1 trillion to the national wealth.
From Time Magazine Archive
On the other hand, the man who plods with scientific details should not look with contempt upon the man who popularizes the results of technical study by giving it an attractive literary setting.
From Our Bird Comrades by Leander S. (Leander Sylvester) Keyser
A prominent AI researcher, Goertzel and DeepMind co-founder Shane Legg popularized the term “artificial general intelligence” in the early 2000s.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Over the past year, the “TACO” trade has evolved from just a humorous acronym, first popularized by a columnist with the Financial Times, into a major force in markets.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
Hosts of spiritual-minded sorts called it home: Alan Watts popularized Zen Buddhism in the ’60s, alongside poets Gary Snyder and Kenneth Rexroth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
In 1826, young Benjamin Disraeli popularized the word “millionaire” to describe the new industrial barons in his novel “Vivian Grey.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Even Voltaire, who avoided the dialogue between a philosopher and a lady, a form popularized by Fontenelle, liked to imagine his book being read by a sophisticated woman at her dressing table.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Meanwhile, the investment firm Vanguard has been credited with popularizing low-cost and diversified index funds.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 15, 2025
Kalshi is slowly popularizing markets for things you’d have never thought to bet on five years ago, at least not at scale.
From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2025
The band was instrumental in popularizing the rock en español genre, and their music is often heard across the Southland, from house parties to sporting events.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
Starbucks repackaged Italy’s coffee ritual for American tastes, popularizing the iced coffee craze through its Frappuccinos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025
Borel was followed by two other works of popularizing science.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
