sexualize
US/ˈsɛk.ʃu.əl.aɪz/
sexualize verb: to render sexual, or apply sex appeal to (a person, thing, or concept).
Verb
sexualize (third-person singular simple present sexualizes, present participle sexualizing, simple past and past participle sexualized)
- To render sexual, or apply sex appeal to (a person, thing, or concept).
- Children’s beauty pageants sexualize childhood.
- Your advertising doesn't need to sexualize goods and services to sell them to me, and in fact I might make a point of not buying your product if you pester me with sexualization.
- Antonyms:
- desexualize
- To distinguish as belonging to separate sexes.
- Synonyms:
- sex
Examples of sexualize in a sentence
- I have charted a change from a Victorian culture that spiritualized love to modern efforts to sexualize love.1991, Steven Seidman, Romantic Longings, page 121:
- “Asian women on-screen, especially in America and Hollywood, have been so sexualized and fetishized for the benefit of other people’s stories or jokes,” Ashley says.2023 June 15, Kat Moon, “Ashley Park’s Main Character Energy From ‘Joy Ride’ Is Here To Stay: ‘I’m Treating Myself Like A Lead Now’”, in...
Synonyms of sexualize
Antonyms
Forms of sexualize
| third-person singular present | sexualizes |
|---|---|
| present participle | sexualizing |
| past participle | sexualized |
| past | sexualized |
| alternative form | sexualise |
Origin of sexualize
From sexual + -ize.
Words formed from sexualize
Questions about sexualize
- What does sexualize mean?
- Sexualize means to render sexual, or apply sex appeal to (a person, thing, or concept).
- How do you use sexualize in a sentence?
- I have charted a change from a Victorian culture that spiritualized love to modern efforts to sexualize love.
- What part of speech is sexualize?
- Sexualize is a verb.
- How do you pronounce sexualize?
- Sexualize is pronounced /ˈsɛk.ʃu.əl.aɪz/ (US).
- What is the past tense of sexualize?
- The past tense of sexualize is sexualized.
Words near sexualize in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sexualize (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sexualize.wav.
Cite this entry: “sexualize.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sexualize. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.