verbalize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to express in words.
He couldn't verbalize his feelings.
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Grammar. to convert into a verb.
to verbalize “butter” into “to butter.”
verb (used without object)
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to use many words; be verbose.
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to express something verbally.
verb
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to express (an idea, feeling, etc) in words
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to change (any word that is not a verb) into a verb or derive a verb from (any word that is not a verb)
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(intr) to be verbose
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of verbalize
First recorded in 1600–10; verbal + -ize; compare French verbaliser
Explanation
To verbalize something is to put it into words. If you need to get into the bathroom desperately, and the person in front of you hasn’t noticed your agitation, you’ll probably have to verbalize it, and quickly! Verbalize comes from the word verbal, which describes spoken words. If people are extremely verbose, that means they talk all the time. Very shy people don't verbalize their feelings very often. Verbalize can also mean articulate, or clarify. If I’m working for you on a construction site, and you yell “SLAB!” at me, I might have to ask you to verbalize what you mean by “SLAB!”
Vocabulary lists containing verbalize
Tears of a Tiger
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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The Inexplicable Logic of My Life
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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.
It’s really hard to verbalize how I am feeling at this point.”
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 10, 2025
“If you’re able to intellectualize that information and verbalize, this isn’t for you,” she says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 22, 2025
The trauma was often too much for them to verbalize.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2023
As soon as a child is able to verbalize their identity, they are capable of knowing it.
From Salon • Oct. 17, 2023
The unsaid words pushed roughly against the thoughts that we had no craft to verbalize, and crowded the room to uneasiness.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
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.
