harmonize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become harmonious
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(tr) music to provide a harmony for (a melody, tune, etc)
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(intr) to sing in harmony, as with other singers
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to collate parallel narratives
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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harmonizationnoun
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harmonizernoun
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reharmonizeverb (used with object)
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unharmonizeverb (used with object)
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harmonizableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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harmonizesimple
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harmonizessimple
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have harmonizedperfect
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has harmonizedperfect
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am harmonizingprogressive
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are harmonizingprogressive
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is harmonizingprogressive
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have been harmonizingperfect progressive
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has been harmonizingperfect progressive
Past
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harmonizedsimple
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had harmonizedperfect
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was harmonizingprogressive
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were harmonizingprogressive
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had been harmonizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of harmonize
First recorded in 1475–85; late Middle English, also armonise, from Middle French harmoniser, equivalent to harmonie + -iser, verb suffix; see harmony, -ize
Explanation
When you harmonize different opinions or ideas, you bring them to some kind of agreement. It's challenging to harmonize the different interests of a whole classroom full of children, but that's part of what a good teacher does. When senators from different parties work together on a bill, they need to harmonize their different expectations and and priorities before they can come up with a good compromise. Another way to harmonize is to blend two singing voices or two instruments in a way that sounds pleasing. This is the oldest meaning of the word, which ultimately comes from the Greek harmonia, "concord of sounds" or "agreement."
Vocabulary lists containing harmonize
"Say It with Flowers" and "The Journey"
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-ize
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Suffixes: -ize
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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:
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins in a presentation mostly aimed at showing that the agencies would harmonize their rules to promote cryptocurrency innovation and rationalize margin collateral requirements in securities markets.
From Barron's ● Jan. 31, 2026
"One of the technical advances that we made in this work is to figure out how to harmonize all these different data modalities so they can come together to learn the same language," Zou said.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 9, 2026
Tony Xu, DoorDash’s chief executive, said during the company’s earnings call on Wednesday that the planned investments would help harmonize its tech infrastructure, after bringing those other delivery platforms under its wing.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2025
But when lightning strikes, and water, oats and salt harmonize in just the right combination of color, consistency and flavor, it can be a thing of beauty, aficionados say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2025
It does not recede into its background of leaden sky, nor harmonize with the gray frame houses and black telephone poles around it.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
In “Luther” she harmonizes with Lamar about selfless love and, in the album’s closing track “Gloria,” she adds moving vocals to the rapper’s ode to writing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2024
“I am happy to see the CDC guidance that harmonizes the approach and gives people concrete information of what they can do everyday,” said Dean Sidelinger, Oregon’s state epidemiologist.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 4, 2024
Frontman Tony Lewis's voice is dynamic and empathetic, and he frequently harmonizes with guitarist-keyboardist John Spinks, creating lovely vocal flourishes.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2023
Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff harmonizes with Rose on the chorus, on which the pair dispense some bittersweet wisdom: “You know there’s no place safe to run/Angels surround everyone.”
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
When a sentence gets complicated, though, even a literate writer can lose track of how each branch in a coordination harmonizes with the rest of the tree.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
The data calendar is light on Friday, although eurozone balance of payments data for May and final harmonized CPI data for June are due for release.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The research team used harmonized survey data collected between 2009 and 2023 through the Gateway to Global Aging Data project.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
There stood an imposing granite structure, designed under French’s supervision by shingle-style modernist Bruce Price, that harmonized perfectly with the park wall and cobblestoned sidewalk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
They harmonized beautifully over a tightly-apertured standard about reciprocated sweetness — a song performed at the scale of a treat in the home of a refugee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 11, 2026
Otto and TimeStar yelled at once, their voices perfectly harmonized, almost indistinguishable.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
WSJ: It seems like therefore the “different speeds” version of Europe might work for some things but not others like harmonizing standards, the AI project as a collective.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 21, 2026
Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves each starred in their solo parts while harmonizing almost perfectly together to propel the Lakers to their fifth consecutive win.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2025
Each element should layer on top of the others, sometimes harmonizing, sometimes clashing just enough to make every bite sing.
From Salon ● Sep. 16, 2025
Orff wrote the piece in Germany during the Nazi regime, and it was very popular with the Nazis — harmonizing uncomfortably well with their testosterone-fueled propaganda.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2025
Who ever heard of angry revolutionists all harmonizing “We Shall Overcome . . . Suum Day ...” while tripping and swaying along arm-in-arm with the very people they were supposed to be angrily revolting against?
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.
