democratize

1 of 2

verb

de·​moc·​ra·​tize di-ˈmä-krə-ˌtīz 

democratized; democratizing

transitive verb

: to make democratic

democratization

di-ˌmä-krə-tə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

democratizer

di-ˈmä-krə-ˌtī-zər 

noun

democratization

2 of 2

noun

de·​moc·​ra·​ti·​za·​tion

variants also British democratisation

⸗ˌ⸗⸗tə̇ˈzāshən, 

-ˌtīˈ-

plural -s

: the act or process of making or becoming democratic

this great democratization of music has been made possible, thanks to the radio and the phonograph

—Christian Science Monitor

Examples of democratize in a Sentence

Verb

Community leaders have had some success in democratizing the organization.

There is internal pressure on the government to democratize.

The magazine's goal is to democratize art.

an effort to democratize politics

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

This has democratized expression by allowing ordinary people to speak, crossing the silos of traditional boundaries. — Sindhu Bhaskar, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026

It’s been just a few years since ChatGPT’s release to public in late 2022, democratizing access to chatbots with the ability to answer increasingly personal questions using language from the whole of the internet. — Jennifer Liu, CNBC, 6 Sep. 2026

During the panel discussion, Gyllenhaal also addressed the pitch that AI can democratize filmmaking and allow auteurs to make big-budget projects at a fraction of the cost. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026

If the American family is viewed as a hierarchy with the male patriarch at the top, then feminism is democratizing that structure. — Gloria Steinem, Glamour, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

borrowed from French démocratiser, from démocratie democracy + -iser -ize

First Known Use

Verb

1794, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for democratize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize

Kids Definition

democratize

verb

de·​moc·​ra·​tize di-ˈmäk-rə-ˌtīz 

democratized; democratizing

: to make democratic

democratization

-ˌmäk-rət-ə-ˈzā-shən 

noun