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

His press conferences are almost theatrically placid, Brunson often slouched in a hat and/or hooded sweatshirt and deflecting any effort to valorize his success.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

“Monuments are intended to valorize battles and generals,” she said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 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

So many programs these days valorize variety, but to spend a bit over an hour in a single sound world can be a profound experience.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023

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

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

On top of that, the Nashville music industry was already established, and it valorized the professional songwriter as a key part of a well-oiled machine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

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

“They may not be valorized as good design, but people’s attitudes will change.”

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 23, 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

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 William H. (William Harrison) Ukers

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

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

While the Royal Society set off in one direction, valorizing plainness, other communities of scholars, at other points in history, were more inclined to fancy talk.

From Slate ● Dec. 12, 2017

One obstacle is the steady stream of rescue stories valorizing self-sacrifice.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2012