sensationalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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sensationalizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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sensationalized,
past participle, past
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sensationalizing
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sensationalizesimple
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sensationalizessimple
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have sensationalizedperfect
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has sensationalizedperfect
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am sensationalizingprogressive
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are sensationalizingprogressive
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is sensationalizingprogressive
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have been sensationalizingperfect progressive
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has been sensationalizingperfect progressive
Past
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sensationalizedsimple
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had sensationalizedperfect
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was sensationalizingprogressive
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were sensationalizingprogressive
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had been sensationalizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sensationalize
First recorded in 1850–55; sensational + -ize
Explanation
To sensationalize is to exaggerate a story to make it more thrilling or alarming. Newspapers sometimes sensationalize a headline in order to sell more papers. TV, online news sources, and other media use this tactic all the time, sensationalizing the details of a news story, the headline describing it, or the images that accompany it. Watching the news can make you think that your city is becoming more dangerous, but it's not always true — often, the media has sensationalized a few crimes and made it seem that way. Sensationalize shares a Latin root with sensation that means "feeling."
Vocabulary lists containing sensationalize
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:
“He’s a participant. It has this feeling of being really alive and really immersive and raw and honest about what it is, without trying to sensationalize anything.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
“Oftentimes, people—especially young scientists—want to call old discoveries by new names to sensationalize them,” she says.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2024
A trial would only sensationalize her trauma for tabloid fodder — recent examples of women who've had to endure this treatment like rapper Megan Thee Stallion and actress Amber Heard come to mind.
From Salon ● Nov. 20, 2023
“Demolition also removes efforts to further sensationalize the crime scene.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
They tend to sensationalize — to appeal to the voyeuristic tendencies people have.
From 100 New Yorkers of the 1970s by Max Millard
“In a world where the true-crime genre often sensationalizes tragedy, Anna’s work in ‘Woman of the Hour’ stands out as a beacon of compassion and leadership,” Williams said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024
“This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked,” Cheung said.
From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024
Lamar's line sensationalizes allegations leveled at Drake; but it also fails to properly acknowledge that even despite two convictions, Weinstein's power, wealth and iron fist has still granted him an overturned conviction in New York.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
“This lawsuit simply repeats much of the recent media coverage, mischaracterizes Andy’s departure from Google and sensationalizes claims made about Andy by his ex-wife,” Mr. Rubin’s lawyer, Ellen Stross, said in a statement Monday.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2019
To ensure that no one embellishes or sensationalizes their stories, I’m going to ask them to sign an honor code.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
Because the investigation has been sensationalized in the press, the objective of the interviews is to present a fair and fully dimensional picture of the Sharaf family.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
However, some analysts believe Claude Cowork is the latest sensationalized headline feeding into an overly pessimistic narrative of AI eating software.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 15, 2026
The lawsuit alleges he has a history of “making false, sensationalized claims about high-profile individuals” to gain attention, citing an online incident with rapper Sexxy Red.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2025
There was obviously sensitivity around Paul’s arrest; he didn’t want that to be sensationalized.
From Salon ● May 23, 2025
The impetus was the publication of a highly sensationalized book, The Hydrogen Bomb: The Men, The Menace, The Mechanism, by journalists James Shepley and Clay Blair Jr., which accepted Teller’s version of events as gospel.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“People watch the headlines too much — the sensationalizing of it all. I bet people think the market’s down much more than 5%,” said Steve Azoury, owner of Azoury Financial in Troy, Mich.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 21, 2026
Ramsay carefully avoids sensationalizing or oversexualizing Grace and Jackson’s relationship at the start of the film.
From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2025
Jordan has found a successful niche by sensationalizing crime and chaos in one of the world’s most populated and frequently visited cities.
From Slate ● Mar. 14, 2025
Hawes utilizes that iconography without exploiting or sensationalizing the material; the film is emotionally restrained in a way that is almost frustrating at times but ultimately reflects the character of Winton’s quiet, self-effacing personality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
An increasing number of Harlem leaders declared that the principal reason for this was the downtown white press media, sensationalizing what was going on in a calm, dignified community.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
