PRIORITIZE Synonyms: 42 Similar and Opposite Words

prioritize

verb

Definition of prioritize

as in to categorize

to put in order based on importance We prioritized the hardest parts of the project before the easier ones.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

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 prioritize Throughout her career, Simon has deftly taken on fraught historical or political baggage but always in a way that prioritizes the emotional core of the material. — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026 The police department has since implemented a new system to prioritize the completion of its disciplinary process before an officer can retire, Mamdani said Monday. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 Proponents say the money will prioritize the removal of small dead or unhealthy trees in overly dense areas. — Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026 And as time went on, the others felt that Hinds prioritized Mastodon less and less. — Steve Appleford, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for prioritize

Recent Examples of Synonyms for prioritize

Verb

Brisk walking, light cycling, doubles tennis and household chores such as vacuuming, mopping and mowing the lawn were categorized as moderate activity; vigorous activity included jogging, fast cycling, singles tennis and aerobics.

— Jennifer Fields, Washington Post, 8 Oct. 2026
Currently, the San Francisco Bay Area is categorized as having high circulation of influenza, whereas activity in the Sacramento region is categorized as moderate to high, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.

— Brady Halbleib, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of categorize

Verb

The team’s last-second win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was organized and operated by the NFL, part of the league’s more standard rotation of all teams playing overseas.

— Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Workers are organizing at manufacturing plants, in newsrooms, in technology, in hospitals, on college campuses, and construction sites.

— Liz Shuler, Time, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of organize

Verb

Its argument is that insurers have been pricing wildfire risk the wrong way, by looking backward at statistics and sorting homes by zip code.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
Under the change, applications would be sorted into three broad categories of merit, while their overall score, as determined by a panel of experts, would remain a secret.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of sort

Verb

Only 15 were classified as youth- or student-led groups, while the remaining 35 included communist organizations, labor groups, political organizations and professional protest coordinators.

— Asra Q. Nomani, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Near the epicenter, the agency estimated an intensity of VIII, classified as severe on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, which measures how strongly the ground shakes at individual locations.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of classify

Verb

In reality though, every genome analysis is influenced by multiple of factors, such as the reference genome used for comparison and the technology used to sequence the DNA itself.

— Euan Ashley, STAT, 1 Oct. 2026
Scientists can sequence a genome, but understanding environmental impacts requires psychologists to follow thousands of people for decades.

— Jessica Craig, Popular Science, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of sequence

Verb

A day after their merger collapsed, Albertsons filed a lawsuit against Kroger, seeking a $600 million termination fee as well as billions of dollars in legal fees and lost shareholder value.

— ABC News, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026
Since February, the team has filed more than 40 open records requests with state regulators at the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning.

— Justin Price, AJC.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of file

Browse Nearby Words

priorities

prioritize

prioritized

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Prioritize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prioritize. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of prioritize

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

zenith

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 16

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes