nationalize

/ˈnæʃənəlaɪz/

//ˈnæʃənəlaɪz// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"nationalize" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“nationalize” is uncommon English (frequency #67,674 among 1,534 “N” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,674
frequency rank, English
1,534
“N” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To make into, or to become, a nation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-nationalize · nationalize · English

nationalize · rank #67,674 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,674
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,534
  • PHOTO-FINISH nasheed

Nearest frequency peer: nasheed (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “nationalize”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “nationalize” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for nationalize
PropertyValue
Headwordnationalize
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈnæʃənəlaɪz/
Letters11
Frequency rank#67,674
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “nationalize” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).nationalizefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “nasheed” (#67,673), “nazar” (#67,675), “NACA” (#67,670). Among 1,534 “N” headwords, “nationalize” is #67,674. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

nationalize is uncommon English at frequency #67,674 among 1,534 “N” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈnæʃənəlaɪz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for nationalize, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French nationaliser. By surface analysis, national + -ize. The correct English form is nationalize, spelled N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-Z-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To make into, or to become, a nation.
  2. 2
    To bring a private company, or an industry comprising such companies, under the control of a specific government.
  3. 3
    To bring a concept such as a political issue or commercial campaign to the attention of the entire country.
  4. 4
    To change from having local and regional variation to being national in character and scope.
  5. 5
    To make national; to make a nation of; to endow with the character and habits of a nation, or the peculiar sentiments and attachment of citizens of a nation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how nationalize appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Probably no Hindu who could make intelligent use of political freedom ever dreams of the present possibility of a nationalized India, […]
  2. Near-synonym: socialize

Etymology

From French nationaliser. By surface analysis, national + -ize.

This word in other languages

nationaliser(Français)nationalisieren(Deutsch)estatizar(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "nationalize"?
"nationalize" is spelled N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L-I-Z-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈnæʃənəlaɪz/.
What does "nationalize" mean?
As a verb, "nationalize" means: To make into, or to become, a nation.
How do you pronounce "nationalize"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "nationalize" is /ˈnæʃənəlaɪz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "nationalize"?
From French nationaliser. By surface analysis, national + -ize. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "nationalize", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

minesweeper#67,651overstuffed#67,711meatpacking#67,636Mauritanian#67,633

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list