paternalize

P3A1T1E1R1N1A1L1I1Z10E1

verb

To make paternal; to place in a fatherly role.

Scrabble 22
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Meanings

verbpaternalize (third-person singular simple present paternalizes, present participle paternalizing, simple past and past participle paternalized)

present singular third person paternalizes · participle present paternalizing · participle past paternalized · past paternalized

  1. transitiveTo make paternal; to place in a fatherly role.

    To paternalize the government or make it more bureaucratic is in their judgment to repress private enterprise and to imitate the monarchical systems...

    1912, Edith M Phelps, Selected Articles on Government Ownership of the Telegraph
  2. control organizations, things etc. disregarding people's freedom and responsibility under guise and pretense of knowing what would be good and proper for them

Origin

From paternal + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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