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popularize

[pop-yuh-luh-rahyz]
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verb (used with object), pop·u·lar·ized, pop·u·lar·iz·ing.
  1. to make popular: to popularize a dance.
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Also especially British, pop·u·lar·ise.

Origin of popularize

First recorded in 1585–95; popular + -ize
Related formspop·u·lar·i·za·tion, nounpop·u·lar·iz·er, nounan·ti·pop·u·lar·i·za·tion, adjective, nounde·pop·u·lar·ize, verb (used with object), de·pop·u·lar·ized, de·pop·u·lar·iz·ing.re·pop·u·lar·i·za·tion, nounre·pop·u·lar·ize, verb (used with object), re·pop·u·lar·ized, re·pop·u·lar·iz·ing.sem·i·pop·u·lar·ized, adjectiveun·pop·u·lar·ized, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for popularize

simplify, promote, revive, disseminate, restore, familiarize, universalize, resurrect, spread, generalize

Examples from the Web for popularize

Contemporary Examples of popularize

Historical Examples of popularize

British Dictionary definitions for popularize

popularize

popularise

verb (tr)
  1. to make popular; make attractive to the general public
  2. to make or cause to become easily understandable or acceptable
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Derived Formspopularization or popularisation, nounpopularizer or populariser, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for popularize

v.

"to make a complex topic intelligible to the people," 1833, from popular + -ize. Earlier "to cater to popular taste" (1590s); "to make popular" (1797). Related: Popularized; popularizing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper