NATURALIZE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does naturalize mean? 

• NATURALIZE (verb)
  The verb NATURALIZE has 5 senses:

1. make into a citizen

2. explain with reference to nature

3. adopt to another place

4. make more natural or lifelike

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

  Familiarity information: NATURALIZE used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NATURALIZE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they naturalize    ... he / she / it naturalizes   
Past simple: naturalized   
Past participle: naturalized   
-ing form: naturalizing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Make into a citizen

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

naturalise; naturalize

Context example:

The French family was naturalized last year

Hypernyms (to "naturalize" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

"Naturalize" entails doing...:

immigrate (come into a new country and change residency)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Antonym:

denaturalize (strip of the rights and duties of citizenship)

Derivation:

naturalization (the proceeding whereby a foreigner is granted citizenship)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Explain with reference to nature

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "naturalize" is one way to...):

explain; explicate (make plain and comprehensible)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 3

Meaning:

Adopt to another place

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

naturalise; naturalize

Context example:

The stories had become naturalized into an American setting

Hypernyms (to "naturalize" is one way to...):

accommodate; adapt (make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

naturalization (changing the pronunciation of a borrowed word to agree with the borrowers' phonology)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make more natural or lifelike

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

naturalise; naturalize

Hypernyms (to "naturalize" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

denaturalize (make less natural or unnatural)

Derivation:

naturalization (the quality of being brought into conformity with nature)

Sense 5

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

cultivate; domesticate; naturalise; naturalize; tame

Context example:

tame the soil

Hypernyms (to "naturalize" is one way to...):

accommodate; adapt (make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose)

Domain category:

flora; plant; plant life ((botany) a living organism lacking the power of locomotion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

naturalization (the introduction of animals or plants to places where they flourish but are not indigenous)

naturalization (the quality of being brought into conformity with nature)

 Context examples 

A native or naturalized member of a state or country, especially one entitled to vote and enjoy other privileges there.

(Citizen, NCI Thesaurus)

It is native to Europe, West Asia, North Africa, Madeira and the Azores, and is naturalized in many parts of the world, notably North America and Australia.

(Hypericum perforatum, NCI Thesaurus)

Pacific Island American - a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands and who was either born in the United States or who was naturalized as a citizen of the United States.

(Pacific Island American, NCI Thesaurus)

Denotes a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, and who was either born in the United States or who was naturalized as a citizen of the United States.

(Asian American, NCI Thesaurus)