memorialize

verb

me·​mo·​ri·​al·​ize mə-ˈmȯr-ē-ə-ˌlīz 

memorialized; memorializing

transitive verb

1

: to address or petition by a memorial

2

a

: to serve as a memorial of : commemorate

a statue memorializing the event

b

: to do or create something that causes people to remember (a person, thing, or event)

a period in history that has been memorialized in countless films

memorialization

mə-ˌmȯr-ē-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

-ˌlī-ˈzā-

noun

Synonyms of memorialize

• commemorate

Examples of memorialize in a Sentence

an exciting period in history that has been memorialized in many popular books and movies

at the entrance to the park stands a statue memorializing the novelist Sir Walter Scott

Recent Examples on the Web

Helena, the mother of the Byzantine emperor Constantine, aided this process by commissioning shrines such as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where Christians still memorialize important events in Jesus’ life and ministry. — Shay Rabineau, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026

Cosmic Symphony memorializes the instruments, honors their journeys, and affirms the resilience of the human spirit. — Billboard Staff, Billboard, 5 Oct. 2026

The dollhouse memorializes the salon hosted by Carrie and her younger sisters, painter Florine and writer Ettie, and visited by all the great avant-garde artists and thinkers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. — Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026

Among those memorialized were actor Rock Hudson, entertainer Liberace, and lawyer Roy Cohn. — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1798, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for memorialize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize

Kids Definition

memorialize

verb

me·​mo·​ri·​al·​ize mə-ˈmōr-ē-ə-ˌlīz 

-ˈmȯr-

memorialized; memorializing

: commemorate sense 1

memorialization

-ˌmōr-ē-ə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

-ˌmȯr-

noun