Standard Lemma guide

sexualize

verb · 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

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.

  • General-American: /ˈsɛk.ʃu.əl.aɪz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To render sexual, or apply sex appeal to (a person, thing, or concept).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: desexualize

2

verb

Meaning 2

To distinguish as belonging to separate sexes.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Topics: biology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sex

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

make sexual, endow with sex, attribute sex to

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The god was sexualized and married to another god
  • Some languages sexualize all nouns and do not have a neuter gender

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sexualise

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: change, alter, modify

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sek-der. Proto-Indo-European *séks-u-sder. Proto-Italic *seksus Proto-Indo-European *sek-der. Proto-Italic *sekaō Latin secō Latin secāre? Latin sexus Proto-Indo-European *h2el-der.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālis Latin sexuālisbor. English sexual Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English sexualize From sexual + -ize.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: sexualitzar — to make sexual
  • Chinese Mandarin: 性化 (xìnghuà) — to make sexual
  • Finnish: seksualisoida — to make sexual
  • Finnish: seksuaalistaa — to make sexual
  • Finnish: sukupuolistaa — to make sexual
  • French: sexualiser — to make sexual
  • Galician: sexualizar — to make sexual
  • German: sexualisieren — to make sexual
  • Irish: gnéasaigh — to make sexual
  • Italian: sessualizzare — to make sexual
  • Latvian: seksualizēt — to make sexual
  • Portuguese: sexualizar — to make sexual
  • Spanish: sexualizar — to make sexual
  • Swedish: sexualisera — to make sexual