sexualize

[ sek-shoo-uh-lahyz or, especially British, seks-yoo- ]

verb (used with object),sex·u·al·ized, sex·u·al·iz·ing.

to render sexual; endow with sexual characteristics.

Origin of sexualize

First recorded in 1830–40; sexual + -ize

Also especially British, sex·u·al·ise .

Other words from sexualize

sex·u·al·i·za·tion [sek-shoo-uh-lahy-zey-shuhn, seks-yoo-] /ˌsɛk ʃu ə laɪˈzeɪ ʃən, ˌsɛks yu-/ especially British, sex·u·al·i·sa·tion, noun
de·sex·u·al·ize; especially British, de·sex·u·al·ise, verb (used with object), de·sex·u·al·ized, de·sex·u·al·iz·ing or (especially British) de·sex·u·al·ised, de·sex·u·al·is·ing.

Words Nearby sexualize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sexualize in a sentence

Though her design was sexualized, Croft was a powerful, glamorous woman to be feared and admired.
The women who brought Lara Croft to life | Stacey Henley | October 28, 2021 | Washington Post
In the book, the last text — the sexualized texts that Tricia has gotten was probably around Easter day.
Brad Raffensperger Says GOP Lawmakers Lack ‘Moral Courage’ On The Big Lie | Galen Druke | October 28, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
We need to stop sexualizing women in sports and start to appreciate their performance.
Media Outlets, Stop Sexualizing Women in Sports | awise | October 18, 2021 | Outside Online
From youth pastors finding a new conduit for conversion to believers taking sexualized trends and turning them wholesome, TikTok has a proselytizing subsect — albeit one that is pretty easily ignored if you just keep on swiping.
TikTok’s Strange (and Wonderful) Subcultures | Sean Culligan | June 23, 2021 | Ozy
Kikuchi played Chieko Wataya, who is deaf and mute and does not have any speaking lines, and whose role was also sexualized.
The Crucial History Behind Yuh-Jung Youn's Oscar Win | Kat Moon | April 23, 2021 | Time

This maternal sensuality, she adds, is in no way an attempt to sexualize her children or herself.
Elinor Carucci Captures the Messy, Beautiful Reality of Motherhood | Amy Zimmerman | November 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Here, Donigan seems to sexualize their work, and inject some gender and power issues into their art-about-art premises.
Milk, the Other White Fluid | Blake Gopnik | May 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for sexualize

sexualize

sexualise

/ (ˈsɛksjʊəˌlaɪz) /

verb

to make or become sexual or sexually aware
to give or acquire sexual associations

Derived forms of sexualize

sexualization or sexualisation, 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

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