institutionalized

adjective

in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al·​ized ˌin(t)-stə-ˈt(y)ü-sh(ə-)nə-ˌlīzd 

1

a

: created and controlled by an established organization

institutionalized housing

institutionalized religion

b

: established as a common and accepted part of a system or culture

institutionalized beliefs and practices

2

: placed in the care of a specialized institution

At first, the researchers … confine their studies to serial killers, mass murderers, institutionalized sociopaths …

—Marilyn Stasio

Examples of institutionalized in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reenacting Bronze Age spear combat The European Bronze Age saw the rise of institutionalized warfare, evidenced by the many spearheads and similar weaponry archaeologists have unearthed. —Ars Technica, 30 Dec. 2024

Paris Hilton is celebrating a huge milestone after using her celebrity and personal experience to enact protections for institutionalized youth. —Angel Saunders, People.com, 19 Dec. 2024

Inspired by the institutionalized approach to enabling consumer choice already deployed in Europe, in October 2024, the CFPB adopted Section 1033. —Ruth Foxe Blader, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024

Past Chinese leaders, notably Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, believed in the institutionalized processes of collective leadership. —Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 15 July 2020

Word History

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Medical Definition

institutionalized

adjective

in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al·​ized

variants or chiefly British institutionalised

ˌin(t)-stə-ˈt(y)ü-shnəl-ˌīzd, -shən-ᵊl- 

: accustomed so firmly to the care and routine of an institution as to find independent life in the outside world difficult or unmanageable

Many prisoners who only need a drug or alcohol program become more institutionalized with each mandatory return.

—Robert L. Johnson, Undoing Time