memorialize

verb

me·​mo·​ri·​al·​ize mə-ˈmȯr-ē-ə-ˌlīz 

memorialized; memorializing

transitive verb

1

: to address or petition by a memorial

2

a

: to serve as a memorial of : commemorate

a statue memorializing the event

b

: to do or create something that causes people to remember (a person, thing, or event)

a period in history that has been memorialized in countless films

memorialization

mə-ˌmȯr-ē-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

-ˌlī-ˈzā-

noun

Synonyms of memorialize

• commemorate

Examples of memorialize in a Sentence

an exciting period in history that has been memorialized in many popular books and movies

at the entrance to the park stands a statue memorializing the novelist Sir Walter Scott

Recent Examples on the Web

Weeks of attention-seeking gestures — rapping about lean with EsDeeKid, referencing deep Kirk Franklin cuts with Druski, and memorializing moments in basketball history with Melo — broadcasted inner-city cool to people who aren’t often visited by someone with Oscar buzz. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 21 Jan. 2026

Andrew Lee Photography The museum, which opened in September just before Lithuania’s Holocaust Remembrance Day, offers an intimate window into the kind of thriving town most famously memorialized in the movie Fiddler on the Roof. —Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026

Danez Smith memorializes Renee Nicole Good, poet, mother, and neighbor. —Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026

The refrain now memorialized by mourners and protesters alike. —CBS News, 11 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for memorialize

• contextualize
• industrialize
• materialise
• materialize
• microenterprise
• overemphasize
• particularize
• revolutionise
• revolutionize
• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise

Kids Definition

memorialize

verb

me·​mo·​ri·​al·​ize mə-ˈmōr-ē-ə-ˌlīz 

-ˈmȯr-

memorialized; memorializing

: commemorate sense 1

memorialization

-ˌmōr-ē-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

-ˌmȯr-

noun