Other forms: naturalized; naturalizing; naturalizes
To naturalize is to make someone a citizen of a country or to adapt to living in a new place or enviroment.
Naturalizing has several meanings that are all variations on the idea of becoming native. When an immigrant is naturalized, they become a full citizen of a country. Other types of naturalizing also involve foreign people or things fitting in. A foreign term — like adios — is naturalized because many English-only speakers use it. When something or someone is naturalized, they've learned to live and fit in somewhere new. They now fit in naturally.
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make into a citizen“The French family was naturalized last year”synonyms: naturaliseantonyms:denaturalizestrip of the rights and duties of citizenship
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adopt to another place
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explain with reference to nature
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make more natural or lifelikesynonyms: naturaliseantonyms:denaturalizemake less natural or unnatural
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adapt (a wild plant or unclaimed land) to the environmentsynonyms: cultivate, domesticate, naturalise, tame
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Vocabulary lists containing naturalize
As you read Scott Bittle and Jonathan Rochkind's "A Place to Call Home: What Immigrants Say Now About Life in America," learn this word list. Here are links to lists for texts in Grade 8's Collection 1: My Favorite Chaperone, Bonne Annee, A Place to Call Home, The Latehomecomer
The 14th Amendment was ratified by Congress on July 9, 1868. While inclusive in its phrasing, it was geared toward and granted citizenship to African Americans and formerly enslaved people. Read the full text here.
In this memoir, the author documents how her childhood was torn apart by her parents' decision to emigrate to America to earn enough money for a house in Mexico.