as in divides
to cause (people) to break up into opposing groups
A hot button issue that is sure to polarize the public.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of polarizes
As technology distracts, polarizes and automates, people are still finding refuge on analog islands in the digital sea.
—
Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 28 Dec. 2025
Content that outrages, polarizes or triggers anxiety keeps us watching.
—Avital Pardo, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 28 Dec. 2025
Content that outrages, polarizes or triggers anxiety keeps us watching.
—Avital Pardo, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for polarizes
divides
Verb
-
Food apartheid in Metcalfe Park Census data show how sharply the food access crisis divides Milwaukee.—
April Quevedo,
jsonline.com,
7 Nov. 2025
-
What divides him from Burton is that Hopkins, by a miracle, summoned the clarity to renounce his own destruction.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Polarizes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/polarizes. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share