weaponize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to supply or equip with a weapon or weapons.
to weaponize trucks and helicopters.
-
to develop (a chemical, microorganism, etc.) for use as a weapon, as in biological warfare.
to weaponize uranium;
weaponized anthrax.
-
to use as a means to gain a powerful advantage.
She has been known to weaponize her femininity.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of weaponize
First recorded in 1955–60; weapon ( def. ) + -ize ( def. )
Explanation
To use something in order to deliberately inflict harm on people is to weaponize it. If you start pelting your brother with grapes, he might accuse you of weaponizing your fruit salad. When a group or government weaponizes something, they take an ordinary object and turn it into a weapon. This word was originally used during the Cold War as military jargon. When the U.S. Army added nuclear capabilities to rockets, preparing them for launching, they weaponized them. These days, it's common to describe everything from words to the internet as being weaponized — in fact, you can weaponize anything that can be used to attack someone else.
Vocabulary lists containing weaponize
White Lies
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Future Tense
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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:
At the very least, the ad is a slimy attempt to weaponize a family dispute.
From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026
Don’t weaponize money or inheritance but don’t give unconditionally either.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
On Thursday, France's minister delegate for international trade, Nicolas Forissier, told AFP that countries have found common ground "on the fact that it's not acceptable to weaponize food and agriculture" in conflicts.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
He also addressed the accusations of antisemitism, writing that "one of the most effective ways to enforce silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism".
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
They did not argue that Instagram or YouTube should be liable for what users posted, but rather that the platforms themselves, which weaponize infinite scroll, autoplay, and addictive feeds, are dangerous products.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 27, 2026
They include the health economist whose data on genetics and disease are weaponized by people she never meant to arm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
“What about people like me who were weaponized against?”
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
AI agents can churn out code with security flaws or be weaponized by bad actors to hack into computer systems.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026
The company said Opus 5 finds software flaws about as well as Mythos 5 but lags far behind in turning those flaws into something that could be weaponized into an attack.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
Anya could see the autumn air parting as the weaponized whistle rocketed toward them.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
On the one hand, they are weaponizing your acts of kindness, like driving Daniel to medical appointments, as acts of control and perhaps attempts to infantilize him.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Walsh treats well-documented, widely accessible historical facts as if they were buried state secrets, weaponizing the baseline historical illiteracy of his audience to construct a narrative of deception.
From Salon ● May 20, 2026
Until now, the country has largely refrained from weaponizing its financial sector against its neighbor across the Persian Gulf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
“The volume, coordination, and repetition signal a deliberate strategy to nationalize a local race by weaponizing bigotry as a turnout engine,” the group’s report says.
From Slate ● Nov. 25, 2025
Jones accuses Abel and Nathan of weaponizing the controversy to “drive a wedge” between her and Baldoni, isolating her in the industry and damaging her career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 26, 2024
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
