valorize

American  

[val-uh-rahyz] / ˈvæl əˌraɪz /

especially British, valorise

verb (used with object)

valorized, valorizing

1. to provide for the maintaining of the value or price of (a commercial commodity) by a government's purchasing the commodity at the fixed price or by its making special loans to the producers.

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valorize British  

/ ˈvæləˌraɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to fix and maintain an artificial price for (a commodity) by governmental action

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Other Word Forms

• valorization
  noun

Etymology

Origin of valorize

First recorded in 1905–10; from Late Latin valor “worth” ( see valor) + -ize

Explanation

To valorize something is to emphasize or enhance its value or importance. Some filmmakers valorize war, making it look noble and exciting on screen. As one who loves to lounge around and take frequent naps, you might feel misunderstood by a culture that valorizes hard work at the expense of rest and relaxation. Economists use the word valorize in a different way, to describe what a government does when it intervenes in a market to fix, increase, or maintain the prices of goods or services or the value of its currency. Valorize comes from the Late Latin valorem, "value or worth," and a root meaning "be strong."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

valorize valorized valorizing

But I also adored that Frémaux was so clearly tickled to valorize an audience-thrilling blockbuster, because Cannes can do that, too.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

He doesn’t need more tournaments nor endorsements nor any of us to further valorize his athletic accomplishments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

It didn’t valorize or glamorize the economic downturn; it just portrayed it in the way that the people who lived there experienced it.

From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2026

"In general chemistry we learn that carbon dioxide reacts with hydroxide to form carbonate. That's undesired because it depletes the molecule we want to valorize," said Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering Chibueze Amanchukwu.

From Science Daily ● May 24, 2024

How could the schools valorize men and women whose values society actively scorned?

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

That’s why it’s so important to not have a cultural figure valorized by one point of view, the idea that we can decide what’s good art, or what’s valuable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2023

Many argue that Gandhi was excessively valorized — and the contributions of militant leaders overlooked — in the decades after 1947, when his party, the Indian National Congress, dominated politics and shaped the nation’s mythmaking.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 12, 2022

Many in the outside world have valorized Anabaptists’ beliefs in forgiveness.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2021

Precisely because military service is voluntary, it can be valorized.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2019

A federal loan of £9,000,000, with 4,535,000 bags of valorized coffee as collateral, was placed in London and New York in May, 1922.

From All About Coffee by Ukers, William H. (William Harrison)

The use of chemical pesticides is forbidden in Paris parks, thereby valorizing the plants that are naturally disease-resistant.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 17, 2022

They lament the toll of physical labor, while also valorizing its clarifying power.

From New York Times ● Nov. 13, 2021

It is interested in shocks and thrills, in valorizing its antihero’s put-upon haplessness, in exploiting potent and crucial protest messages for the lulz.

From Slate ● Jan. 13, 2020

Instead of valorizing military might and shows of strength, the story has taken great pains to focus instead on the importance of diplomacy, political skills, debate, and yes, boring old bureaucratic administration.

From Salon ● May 21, 2019

But “Marie, Dancing Still” also can go mawkish, valorizing its flawed characters into heroes and glossing the demimonde grit in an era when everything was not beautiful at the ballet.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2019