Definitions

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

  • verb To enliven something, especially a spectacle or attraction.
  • verb To dumb down, cheapen, or vulgarize something, especially to create entertainment that appeals to coarse or unsophisticated tastes.
  • verb To promote with bombast, exaggeration, or outright falsehood; to hype or sensationalize.
  • verb To obtain money through fraudulent or deceitful means; to swindle or con.
  • verb To spread inaccurate or false information.
  • verb To seek or attract attention, especially through ostentation.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the surname of P. T. Barnum, a 19th century American showman who co-founded the Barnum & Bailey Circus, combined with the suffix -ize.

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