Romanize

American  

[roh-muh-nahyz] / ˈroʊ məˌnaɪz /

especially British, Romanise

verb (used with object)

Romanized, Romanizing

1. to make Roman Catholic.

2. (often lowercase) to make Roman in character.

3. (often lowercase) to render in the Latin alphabet, especially a language traditionally written in a different system, as Chinese or Japanese.

---

verb (used without object)

Romanized, Romanizing

1. to conform to Roman Catholic doctrine and practices; to become Roman Catholic.

2. (often lowercase) to follow Roman practices.

Romanize British  

/ ˈrəʊməˌnaɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to impart a Roman Catholic character to (a ceremony, practice, etc)

2. (intr) to be converted to Roman Catholicism

3. (tr) to transcribe or transliterate (a language) into the Roman alphabet

4. to make Roman in character, allegiance, style, etc

---

Other Word Forms

• Romanization
  noun
• Romanizer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of Romanize

First recorded in 1600–10; Roman + -ize

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Romanize Romanized Romanizing

My son," she said, "I need not tell you not to let them Romanize you.

From Beric the Briton : a Story of the Roman Invasion by G. A. (George Alfred) Henty

Dr. Webster also defines Romanize, "To Latinize; to conform to Romish opinions."

From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown

Returning home, he found the Roman governor, Quintilius Varus, making efforts to Romanize the German tribes near the Rhine.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 2 Amiel to Atrauli by Various

By alloting the land, the Latin race and Latin tongue would help to Romanize territory already conquered by Roman arms.

From Public Lands and Agrarian Laws of the Roman Republic by Andrew Stephenson

It was possible, it was easy, to Romanize these western peoples.

From The Romanization of Roman Britain by F. (Francis) Haverfield

Zhou Youguang created the Pinyin system of Romanized Chinese, which vastly increased literacy in China and eased the agonies of foreigners studying the language.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 14, 2017

Christ's given name, commonly Romanized as Yeshua, was quite common in first-century Galilee.

From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2013

The books present the dialogue in four versions – Urdu, Hindi, Romanized Urdu and an English translation and require “about 20 stages of proof-reading,” Ms. Kabir said.

From New York Times ● Feb. 11, 2012

Korean rice cakes, Romanized as tteok, are a staple ingredient in the country’s cuisine.

From Washington Post

It contained hardly any towns, though many large country houses, and was perhaps less Romanized than the rest of Gaul.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5 "Arculf" to "Armour, Philip" by Various

“The Presbyterians not only succeeded in Romanizing the spoken Taiwanese language but also provided services such as education and healthcare that other churches did not provide,” she said.

From Seattle Times ● May 18, 2022

For one hundred and twenty years Palestine had been ground beneath the iron heel of Roman governors and Romanizing tyrants.

From Josephus by Norman Bentwich

The influence of the Normans in Romanizing our language has been vastly overrated.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 03, No. 15, January, 1859 by Various

It is therefore his purpose to show that all the sedition was of John's making, while it would seem more probable that the disturbances arose because the Romanizing aristocrats were planning surrender.

From Josephus by Norman Bentwich

The Sacramentalist party represents Romanizing tendencies, and is thoroughly devoted to "the sacramental services and the offices of the church, especially as performed according to the rubric."

From History of Rationalism Embracing a Survey of the Present State of Protestant Theology by J. F. (John Fletcher) Hurst