as in divided
to cause (people) to break up into opposing groups
A hot button issue that is sure to polarize the public.
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Recent Examples of polarized
Its light is polarized at an almost impossible level that hints at a perfectly aligned magnetic field.
—
New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2025
The Clean Power Plan, launched in 2015, further polarized the discussion.
—Elena Bou, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Many young people feel isolated and lonely in an increasingly online and polarized world and AI companions are a quick fix, explains James Sherer, MD, a psychiatrist and deputy chief medical officer at Hackensack Meridian Carrier Clinic.
—Sherri Gordon, Parents, 18 Aug. 2025
Those who say our politics are too polarized to create these kinds of margins are wrong.
—Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 16 Aug. 2025
In places where elections are racially polarized, that kind of voting system can result in a white majority's votes drowning out the ballots of voters of color, courts have found.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 6 Aug. 2025
Polls suggest that trust in health authorities is politically polarized — and perhaps historically low.
—ArsTechnica, 4 Aug. 2025
Moreover, the signals of each of the initial discharges were found to be polarized both at different directions to each other, and to the direction in which the discharges spread through the sky.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
In a dynamic likely to be familiar to Americans, Canada had become increasingly polarized in recent years, with voters poised to replace the longtime Liberal government with a Conservative Party capitalizing on their worries about inflation and immigration.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2025
New Atlas, 29 Aug. 2025
The Clean Power Plan, launched in 2015, further polarized the discussion.
—Elena Bou, Forbes.com, 26 Aug. 2025
Many young people feel isolated and lonely in an increasingly online and polarized world and AI companions are a quick fix, explains James Sherer, MD, a psychiatrist and deputy chief medical officer at Hackensack Meridian Carrier Clinic.
—Sherri Gordon, Parents, 18 Aug. 2025
Those who say our politics are too polarized to create these kinds of margins are wrong.
—Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 16 Aug. 2025
In places where elections are racially polarized, that kind of voting system can result in a white majority's votes drowning out the ballots of voters of color, courts have found.
—Hansi Lo Wang, NPR, 6 Aug. 2025
Polls suggest that trust in health authorities is politically polarized — and perhaps historically low.
—ArsTechnica, 4 Aug. 2025
Moreover, the signals of each of the initial discharges were found to be polarized both at different directions to each other, and to the direction in which the discharges spread through the sky.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025
In a dynamic likely to be familiar to Americans, Canada had become increasingly polarized in recent years, with voters poised to replace the longtime Liberal government with a Conservative Party capitalizing on their worries about inflation and immigration.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC News, 15 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polarized
divided
Verb
-
The resort is divided into domestic and international zones.—
Jeanne Bonner,
CNN Money,
6 Sep. 2025
-
Choose the Right Varieties Garlic is divided into two main categories, and there are numerous cultivars of each type to choose from.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Polarized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polarized. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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