denormalize

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verb

To add redundancy to (a database schema), the opposite of normalization, typically in order to optimize its performance.

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Meanings

verbdenormalize (third-person singular simple present denormalizes, present participle denormalizing, simple past and past participle denormalized)

present singular third person denormalizes · participle present denormalizing · participle past denormalized · past denormalized

  1. transitivecomputingTo add redundancy to (a database schema), the opposite of normalization, typically in order to optimize its performance.

    Some developers regularly denormalize portions of the database in an attempt to improve performance.

    2011, Paul Nielsen, Uttam Parui, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Bible, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 516
  2. transitiveTo make no longer normal; to treat or regard as different or unusual.

    One question these scenes pose for cultural theory is whether such depictions denaturalize rape and denormalize masculinist pleasure in viewing sexual violence.

    2018, Lee Quinby, Millennial Seduction: A Skeptic Confronts Apocalyptic Culture, page 139

Origin

From de- + normalize.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

denormalize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/denormalize

MLA

“denormalize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/denormalize. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “denormalize,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/denormalize.

Source: denormalize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.