Standard Lemma guide

McDonaldization

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The process by which institutions in society become standardized and focused on efficiency and predictability.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, sciences, social-science, sociology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From McDonald's + -ization. Popularized by the American sociologist George Ritzer in his book The McDonaldization of Society (1993), based on an essay of the same title he published in 1983.

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Esperanto: mikdonaldzigado — process by which institutions in society become standardized and focused on efficiency and predictability
  • Polish: makdonaldyzacja — process by which institutions in society become standardized and focused on efficiency and predictability