Link Centre Dictionary

naturalize

na·tu·ra·lize

UK/ˈnæt͡ʃəɹəˌlaɪz/ US/ˈnæt͡ʃɹəˌlaɪz/ uncommon

verb

1.

make into a citizen

  • “The French family was naturalized last year”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.
3.

adopt to another place

  • “The stories had become naturalized into an American setting”
Synonyms
4.

make more natural or lifelike

Synonyms
Antonyms
5.

adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environment

  • “domesticate oats”
  • “tame the soil”

Origin

From Middle French naturaliser. By surface analysis, natural + -ize.

Phrases

  • unadapted borrowing

Related words

Broader terms

Entails

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.