noun · 3 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
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˌmɒdənɪˈzeɪʃn̩/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌmɒdənaɪˈzeɪʃn̩/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˌmɑdɚnɪˈzeɪʃn̩/
General-American:/ˌmɑdɚnaɪˈzeɪʃn̩/
General-American:[ˌmɑɾɚ-]
rhymes with -eɪʃən
CMU ARPABET:M AA2 D ER0 N AH0 Z EY1 SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:M AA2 D ER0 N AY0 Z EY1 SH AH0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The act, process, or result of modernizing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
making modern in appearance or behavior
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the modernization of Nigeria will be a long process
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: modernisation
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: improvement
3
noun
Meaning 3
a modernized version (as of a play)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: adaptation, version
History
Etymology
From modernize + -ation or French modernisation.
Across languages
Translations
51 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
modernizim
— process of modernizing
Arabic:
تَحْدِيث
(taḥdīṯ)
— process of modernizing
Armenian:
արդիականացում
(ardiakanacʻum)
— process of modernizing
Asturian:
modernización
— process of modernizing
Belarusian:
мадэрніза́цыя
(madernizácyja)
— process of modernizing
Bengali:
আধুনিকীকরণ
(adhunikikron)
— process of modernizing
Bulgarian:
модернизация
(modernizácija)
— process of modernizing
Catalan:
modernització
— process of modernizing
Chinese Mandarin:
現代化 /现代化
(xiàndàihuà)
— process of modernizing
Chinese Mandarin:
近代化
(jìndàihuà)
— process of modernizing
Czech:
modernizace
— process of modernizing
Danish:
modernisering
— process of modernizing
Dutch:
modernisering
— process of modernizing
Dutch:
modernisatie
— process of modernizing
Estonian:
moderniseerimine
— process of modernizing
Estonian:
ajakohastamine
— process of modernizing
Finnish:
modernisointi
— process of modernizing
French:
modernisation
— process of modernizing
Galician:
modernización
— process of modernizing
German:
Modernisierung
— process of modernizing
Hindi:
आधुनिकीकरण
(ādhunikīkraṇ)
— process of modernizing
Hungarian:
modernizáció
— process of modernizing
Hungarian:
korszerűsítés
— process of modernizing
Hungarian:
modernizálás
— process of modernizing
Icelandic:
nútímavæðing
— process of modernizing
Italian:
modernizzazione
— process of modernizing
Japanese:
近代化
(kindaika)
— process of modernizing
Japanese:
現代化
(gendaika)
— process of modernizing
Kazakh:
жаңғырту
(jañğyrtu)
— process of modernizing
Korean:
현대화
(hyeondaehwa)
— process of modernizing
Korean:
근대화
(geundaehwa)
— process of modernizing
Latvian:
modernizācija
— process of modernizing
Macedonian:
осовременување
(osovremenuvanje)
— process of modernizing
Macedonian:
модернизација
(modernizacija)
— process of modernizing
Malayalam:
ആധുനികവൽക്കരണം
(ādhunikavalkkaraṇaṁ)
— process of modernizing
Malayalam:
ആധുനികീകരണം
(ādhunikīkaraṇaṁ)
— process of modernizing
Polish:
modernizacja
— process of modernizing
Portuguese:
modernização
— process of modernizing
Romanian:
modernizare
— process of modernizing
Romanian:
modernizație
— process of modernizing
Russian:
модерниза́ция
(modernizácija)
— process of modernizing
Slovak:
modernizácia
— process of modernizing
Spanish:
modernización
— process of modernizing
Swedish:
modernisering
— process of modernizing
Telugu:
ఆధునికీకరణ
(ādhunikīkaraṇa)
— process of modernizing
Ukrainian:
модерніза́ція
(modernizácija)
— process of modernizing
Ukrainian:
осуча́снення
(osučásnennja)
— process of modernizing
Ukrainian:
модернізува́ння
(modernizuvánnja)
— process of modernizing
Vietnamese:
sự hiện đại hoá
— process of modernizing