melanize

M3E1L1A1N1I1Z10E1

verb

To convert into melanin, or to deposit melanin in.

Similar
melaniseblackenblack
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

verbmelanize (third-person singular simple present melanizes, present participle melanizing, simple past and past participle melanized)

present singular third person melanizes · participle present melanizing · participle past melanized · past melanized · alternative melanise

  1. transitiveTo convert into melanin, or to deposit melanin in.

    At the extreme, the mosquito does not permit survival and transmission of the parasite: in genetically selected refractory mosquito strains, the parasites may be lysed as they traverse the midgut, or may be encapsulated and melanized at the early oocyst stage.

    1999 May 21, Jules A. Hoffmann et al., “Phylogenetic Perspectives in Innate Immunity”, in Science, volume 284, number 5418, →DOI, pages 1313–1318

Synonyms & antonyms

verbconvert into, or infiltrate with melanin

Similar
melanise
Broader
convert

verbmake or become black

Similar
blackenmelaniseblack
Broader
discolordiscolourcolour
Also see
blackblacken

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From melanin + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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