weaponize

American  

[wep-uh-nahyz] / ˈwɛp əˌnaɪz /

verb (used with object)

weaponized, weaponizing

1. to supply or equip with a weapon or weapons.

   to weaponize trucks and helicopters.

2. to develop (a chemical, microorganism, etc.) for use as a weapon, as in biological warfare.

   to weaponize uranium;

   weaponized anthrax.

3. to use as a means to gain a powerful advantage.

   She has been known to weaponize her femininity.

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weaponize British  

/ ˈwɛpəˌnaɪz /

verb

1. to adapt (a chemical, bacillus, etc) in such a way that it can be used as a weapon

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Other Word Forms

• weaponization
  noun

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

weaponize weaponized weaponizing

Playwrights from Shakespeare to Sondheim to Manuel-Miranda, meanwhile, write around human emotion and almost weaponize relatability to enrich the audience’s theater experience.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 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

But they pointed to Beijing’s efforts to weaponize its dominance in rare earths and other supply chains as major pressures in a tech world already dealing with heavy demand from AI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026

Today, Venezuela lacks the ability to disrupt global energy flows or weaponize supply in the way larger producers can.

From Barron's ● Jan. 3, 2026

The machines are “a deliberate choice by a multi billion dollar corporation that absolutely knew what it was doing and chose to weaponize sound literally,” said Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez, who represents the city’s first district.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025

“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 goal was to provide enterprise customers more powerful tools while assuaging the White House’s concerns that they could be weaponized by bad actors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

At first, only around 50 partners -- mostly US companies -- were brought into the program called Project Glasswing to test the model's powers before it could be weaponized by hackers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026

When I realized who he was, my heart rose and fell and I considered going back inside before that flaming marshmallow could be weaponized.

From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia

“As the global trend toward weaponizing resources intensifies…this project is expected to strengthen South Korea-U.S. economic and security cooperation while making a significant contribution to diversifying global supply chains,” Korea Zinc said in a statement.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025

“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

He noticed the company’s top executives weaponizing language to control their employees.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2025

Later in the interview, Trotter asked Clark if she’s bothered by the fact that some people might be weaponizing her name in such a manner.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2024

His grandfather Fulton Oursler was a mystery writer and magician who delighted in exposing scammers he believed were weaponizing the craft.

From New York Times ● May 16, 2024