particularize

verb

par·​tic·​u·​lar·​ize pər-ˈti-k(yə-)lə-ˌrīz How to pronounce particularize (audio)
pə-,
 also  pär-
particularized; particularizing

transitive verb

: to state in detail : specify

intransitive verb

: to go into details

Examples of particularize in a Sentence

My lawyer advised me to particularize all my complaints against my landlord. He said he had been treated rudely, then went on to particularize.
Recent Examples on the Web Wagner works hard to particularize these women, but the play, which has over the years lost an intermission and been streamlined into one 95-minute act, has trouble getting started. New York Times, 11 Jan. 2022 Within this prison, Ms. Nwandu has been careful to particularize and humanize her main characters so that the tragedy is not just theoretical or surreal. Jesse Green, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2021 His Democratic opponent was quick to particularize the term for low-information voters: Barbour had lobbied not only for Big Oil, nuclear power plants, and some more-or-less savory foreign governments. Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 19 Dec. 2019 The Justice Department, which intervened on Trump’s behalf in New York, has taken a narrower approach, saying Vance must prove ‘‘particularized need’’ for the records before they are released to a grand jury. BostonGlobe.com, 15 Nov. 2019 That’s a problem built into the bloated mash-up of genres: Comedy is based on particularizing human behavior, but allegory is based on generalizing it. New York Times, 10 Oct. 2019 Photojournalists have deployed a familiar toolbox of artful devices to distill these panoramas of destruction down to human scale, particularize the war and speak to a wider public. Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'particularize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1593, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of particularize was in 1593

Dictionary Entries Near particularize

Cite this Entry

“Particularize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/particularize. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

particularize

verb
par·​tic·​u·​lar·​ize pə(r)-ˈtik-(yə-)lə-ˌrīz How to pronounce particularize (audio)
particularized; particularizing
: to state in detail : specify
particularization
-ˌtik-(yə-)lə-rə-ˈzā-shən
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on particularize

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!