crystallize

verb

crys·​tal·​lize ˈkri-stə-ˌlīz 

variants or less commonly crystalize

crystallized; crystallizing

transitive verb

1

: to cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form

2

: to cause to take a definite form

tried to crystallize his thoughts

3

: to coat with crystals especially of sugar

crystallize grapes

intransitive verb

: to become crystallized

crystallizable

ˈkri-stə-ˌlī-zə-bəl 

ˌkri-stə-ˈlī-

adjective

crystallization

ˌkri-stə-li-ˈzā-shən 

noun

crystallizer noun

Synonyms

• form
• jell
• shape (up)
• solidify

Example Sentences

Eventually the paint will start to crystallize.

Certain conditions can cause carbon to crystallize into diamonds.

Certain conditions can crystallize carbon into diamonds.

The final paragraph of the essay crystallizes her theory.

He tried to crystallize his thoughts.

Her theory crystallizes in the final paragraph of the essay.

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Recent Examples on the Web

The two reports are the latest to crystallize how nurses perceive their profession coming out of a three-year public health emergency during which hospitals were overwhelmed with patients, nurses faced growing workloads and staffing shortages surfaced. —Ken Alltucker, USA TODAY, 3 May 2023

Sometime in the mid-2010s, as the streaming boom crystallized, TV executives realized that transgressions—true and otherwise (see: True Detective, Ozark)—were a surefire way to keep customers engaged. —Matthew Jacobs, Town & Country, 28 Apr. 2023

Social milieus can sometimes crystallize consensus so quickly that individuals caught in the maelstrom of the new orthodoxy construct a whole internal rational edifice which justifies their conformity. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 May 2012

The large unrealized losses — which would have to be crystallized in most deals — have caused some buyers to balk at the prospect, people with knowledge of the matter have said. —Jenny Surane, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2023

True Carbon Accounting is Born – Next year, expect industry coalitions to crystallize around the accounting and reporting standards that make sense for their specific supply and demand chains. —Kevin O'marah, Forbes, 29 Dec. 2022

The results, recently published in Paleontology, show that within 24 hours every organ’s acidity reached the right range for calcium phosphate to crystallize, with these conditions lasting up to five days. —Sasha Warren, Scientific American, 3 Oct. 2022

That’s how Ke Huy Quan opened a tearful acceptance speech at the Gotham Awards in November, when the possibility that the Vietnamese-American actor might be nominated for — and even win — an Oscar for his performance in Everything Everywhere All at Once was starting to crystallize. —Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2023

But for those new to The Last of Us, the understanding begins to crystallize: Joel’s vulnerability might just be his most important attribute. —Lauren Puckett-pope, ELLE, 19 Feb. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

crystal entry 1 + -ize

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

crystallize

verb

crys·​tal·​lize ˈkris-tə-ˌlīz 

crystallized; crystallizing

1

a

: to cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form

b

: to become crystallized

2

: to take or cause to take definite form

the plan crystallized slowly

crystallization

ˌkris-tə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

crystallize

verb

crys·​tal·​lize

variants also crystalize also British crystallise or crystalise

ˈkris-tə-ˌlīz 

crystallized also crystallized also British crystallised or crystallised; crystallizing also crystallizing also British crystallising or crystallising

transitive verb

: to cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form

especially : to cause to form perfect or large crystals

intransitive verb

: to become crystallized

—often used with out

the solid crystallized out

crystallizable

-ˌlī-zə-bəl 

adjective