instrumentalize

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verb

To make into an instrument for achieving a goal.

Opposite
deinstrumentalize
Scrabble 26
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Meanings

verbinstrumentalize (third-person singular simple present instrumentalizes, present participle instrumentalizing, simple past and past participle instrumentalized)

present singular third person instrumentalizes · participle present instrumentalizing · participle past instrumentalized · past instrumentalized · alternative instrumentalise

  1. transitiveTo make into an instrument for achieving a goal.

    […] they also instrumentalize race to reinstate nostalgic, vanguard notions of political activism […]

    2002, Katrin Sieg, Ethnic Drag: Performing Race, Nation, Sexuality in West Germany
  2. transitiveentertainmentTo transcribe for instrumental execution a piece of music written for the human voice

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
deinstrumentalize

Origin

From instrumental + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan instrumentalitzar
  • instrumentalitzarmake into an instrument for achieving a goal
French instrumentaliser
  • instrumentalisermake into an instrument for achieving a goal
German instrumentalisieren, instrumentalisieren
  • instrumentalisierenmake into an instrument for achieving a goal
  • instrumentalisierentranscribe for instrumental execution a piece of music written for the human voice
Greek εργαλειοποιώ
  • εργαλειοποιώ (ergaleiopoió)make into an instrument for achieving a goal
Italian strumentalizzare, strumentalizzare
  • strumentalizzaremake into an instrument for achieving a goal
  • strumentalizzaretranscribe for instrumental execution a piece of music written for the human voice
Portuguese instrumentalizar
  • instrumentalizarmake into an instrument for achieving a goal
Spanish instrumentalizar
  • instrumentalizarmake into an instrument for achieving a goal
Cite this entry
APA

instrumentalize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/instrumentalize

MLA

“instrumentalize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/instrumentalize. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “instrumentalize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/instrumentalize.

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