recontextualize

verb

re·​con·​tex·​tu·​al·​ize ˌrē-kən-ˈteks-chə-wə-ˌlīz 

-chə-ˌlīz

recontextualized; recontextualizing; recontextualizes

transitive verb

: to place (something, such as a literary or artistic work) in a different context

Examples of recontextualize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Part of pushing against such nostalgia requires recontextualizing these works in creative ways. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2025

In addition, a stranger will come to town that will shake things up for Sharon and recontextualize both her past and her present. —Alamin Yohannes, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Oct. 2025

In the last decade, a spate of pop culture examining how the media mistreated famous women in the 1990s and 2000s has recontextualized their stories. —Scarlett Harris, Time, 9 Oct. 2025

The pearl-clutching folks over at the Motion Picture Guild never had a response to their film being used so brazenly, and that was true even as the footage was explicitly recontextualized for the opposite purpose it was intended. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 3 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for recontextualize

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

Kids Definition

recontextualize

verb

re·​con·​tex·​tu·​al·​ize

ˌrē-kən-ˈteks-chə-wə-ˌlīz,

-chə-ˌlīz

: to place (something, as a literary or artistic work) in a different context

recontextualizing the story