Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To convert to the customs of Western civilization.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To render western (as opposed to Oriental) in character; infuse western ideas or ways into.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb to make something western in character

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb make western in character

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word westernize.

Examples

  • Da Gama and Albuquerque began a movement, which still continues, to "westernize" Asia by opening it up to

    Early European History Hutton Webster

  • • Worked numerous jobs to learn skills • Sought to "westernize" Russia

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2008

  • Ten or fifteen years ago when China was at the beginning of its economic development, most people preferred to westernize and forget the past.

    Diane Wei Liang - An interview with author 2010

  • Are you in anyway familiar with the argument of we need not westernize this or that, we need to know we are Africans.

    "I am Aunty Mary" 2009

  • Australian exports of live cattle to Indonesia have boomed as diets westernize in the Southeast Asian nation, amid rising incomes and population growth, but recent revelations of animal abuse in Indonesian slaughterhouses have halted the live cattle trade.

    Indonesia Says It Won't Fight Australian Cattle Ban Ray Brindal 2011

  • I am trying to devise a way to make the tunic style dress and westernize the scarf piece so that it will suit our climate and lifestyle here.

    What Women Are Saying About Clothing Today 2009

  • Are you in anyway familiar with the argument of we need not westernize this or that, we need to know we are Africans.

    Archive 2009-07-01 2009

  • Australian exports of live cattle to Indonesia have boomed as diets westernize in the Southeast Asian nation, amid rising incomes and population growth, but recent revelations of animal abuse in Indonesian slaughterhouses have halted the live cattle trade.

    Indonesia Says It Won't Fight Australian Cattle Ban Ray Brindal 2011

  • At the very least, all non-Western immigrants to Britain and America should be told prior to their arrival that our intention is to westernize them.

    RELIGION Blog | dallasnews.com 2010

  • If you don't know why the "tribal areas" on the Pak-Afghan border are so notoriously hard for the Pakistanis to govern, if you wonder why the people in the Afghan countryside don't automatically see us as their friends and liberators, if you think this is the first time somebody has tried to modernize/westernize/democratize/liberalize Afghanistan, this letter is timely and important reading.

    Harry Shearer: Another Letter About Afghanistan the President May Not Be Reading 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.