medicalize
verb
med·i·cal·ize
ˈme-di-kə-ˌlīz 
medicalized; medicalizing
: to view or treat as a medical concern, problem, or disorder
those who seek to dispose of social problems by medicalizing them—
Liam Hudson
Liam HudsonExamples of medicalize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The perspective that preaddiction is similar to prediabetes also serves to medicalize addiction, reinforcing narrow conceptualizations of what addiction is and pulling attention away from other sociopolitical and environmental causes that also drive risk for substance use disorders.
—Cassandra L. Boness, STAT, 25 May 2023
Conception — so often an intimate act — is made impersonal and medicalized in the context of the fertility clinic, and then made intimate again through the abuse of the doctor-patient relationship.
—Lisa Bubert, Longreads, 28 Mar. 2023
Big Pharma hands the baton to Big Couch in the race to medicalize life.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 15 Mar. 2010
In the late 19th century, when a wave of immigrants came to the U.S. from Southern and Eastern Europe, there was a parallel effort to medicalize and demonize excessive body hair, Herzig said.
—NBC News, 4 Mar. 2021
Despite the problems with greater access to marijuana, a strong pro-marijuana movement has seized the opportunity to medicalize its mission and thus change public perception of the drug.
—Nicholas Chadi, STAT, 12 Apr. 2018
Cassandra L. Boness, STAT, 25 May 2023
Conception — so often an intimate act — is made impersonal and medicalized in the context of the fertility clinic, and then made intimate again through the abuse of the doctor-patient relationship.
—Lisa Bubert, Longreads, 28 Mar. 2023
Big Pharma hands the baton to Big Couch in the race to medicalize life.
—Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 15 Mar. 2010
In the late 19th century, when a wave of immigrants came to the U.S. from Southern and Eastern Europe, there was a parallel effort to medicalize and demonize excessive body hair, Herzig said.
—NBC News, 4 Mar. 2021
Despite the problems with greater access to marijuana, a strong pro-marijuana movement has seized the opportunity to medicalize its mission and thus change public perception of the drug.
—Nicholas Chadi, STAT, 12 Apr. 2018
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'medicalize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near medicalize
Cite this Entry
“Medicalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medicalize. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
medicalize
transitive verb
med·i·cal·ize
variants
or British medicalise
ˈmed-ə-kə-ˌlīz
medicalized or British medicalised; medicalizing or British medicalising
: to view or treat as a medical concern, problem, or disorder
those who seek to dispose of social problems by medicalizing them—Liam Hudson
Liam Hudsonthe Western model of medicalized birth … in order to reduce potential risk—Judith Fitzpatrick
Judith FitzpatrickLove words? Need even more definitions?
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