homogenize

verb

ho·​mog·​e·​nize hō-ˈmä-jə-ˌnīz How to pronounce homogenize (audio)
hə-
homogenized; homogenizing

transitive verb

1
a
: to blend (diverse elements) into a mixture that is the same throughout
b
: to make uniform in structure or composition throughout : to make homogeneous
2
a
: to reduce to small particles of uniform size and distribute evenly usually in a liquid
b
: to reduce the particles of so that they are uniformly small and evenly distributed
specifically : to break up the fat globules of (milk) into very fine particles
As a chemist, he developed equipment to homogenize milk Matt Stiles

intransitive verb

: to become uniform in structure or composition throughout : to become homogenized
homogenizer noun

Examples of homogenize in a Sentence

The new curriculum is an attempt to homogenize education throughout the county. plans to homogenize the science curriculum in public high schools throughout the state
Recent Examples on the Web Hay describes her collection as very dressed up and adventurous, and rather than homogenizing the cast, everyone’s beauty is individualized to their style. Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue, 15 Feb. 2024 Further spoiling the legislative efforts is that the dairy industry isn't homogenized in its support for the bill. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 27 Sep. 2023 But there’s another reason as well: the original linguistic diversity of many areas has been homogenized by expansions of political states in the last several thousand years, and by expansions of farmers in the last 10,000 years. Jared Diamond, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 Large volumes of magma homogenize the signal, and smaller volumes show us more extremes. Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Jan. 2024 In large part, this is because a handful of giant social networks have taken over the open space of the Internet, centralizing and homogenizing our experiences through their own opaque and shifting content-sorting systems. Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2023 Empowering the government to micromanage nonpublic education would homogenize all schools, and there would be no escaping the dominant educational culture. Melissa Langsam Braunstein, National Review, 6 Sep. 2023 These commitments being that social policy can homogenize environments enough that only the genetic components of variation of a trait value will be important in the future, so that heritability values will go from ~0 to ~1.0. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 Aug. 2011 Modern tastes have been homogenized by social media, Koplovitz said, and part of her job is to help clients recover their own tastes among digital influences. Lindsay Crudele, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'homogenize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see homogeneous

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of homogenize was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near homogenize

Cite this Entry

“Homogenize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homogenize. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

homogenize

verb
ho·​mog·​e·​nize hō-ˈmäj-ə-ˌnīz How to pronounce homogenize (audio)
hə-
homogenized; homogenizing
1
: to make homogeneous
2
a
: to reduce to small particles of uniform size and distribute evenly
homogenize peanut butter
homogenize paint
b
: to break up the fat of (milk) into very fine particles
homogenization
-ˌmäj-ə-nə-ˈzā-shən
noun
homogenizer
-ˈmäj-ə-ˌnī-zər
noun

Medical Definition

homogenize

verb
ho·​mog·​e·​nize
variants also British homogenise
homogenized also British homogenised; homogenizing also British homogenising

transitive verb

1
: to make homogeneous
2
a
: to reduce to small particles of uniform size and distribute evenly usually in a liquid
b
: to reduce the particles of so that they are uniformly small and evenly distributed
specifically : to break up the fat globules of (milk) into very fine particles especially by forcing through minute openings

More from Merriam-Webster on homogenize

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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