What does denaturalise mean?
Denaturalise is a formal verb meaning to strip someone of citizenship or nationality, typically through official legal action. It applies most often to naturalised citizens who are found to have obtained that status fraudulently — for example, by concealing a criminal record or misrepresenting facts on an immigration application. Governments and courts carry out this process through denaturalisation proceedings, and the word carries a weighty, bureaucratic connotation: it describes one of the most serious sanctions a state can impose on an individual, severing their legal belonging to a country. Less commonly, denaturalise can be used figuratively to mean removing the natural or characteristic quality of something, as when critics say a policy would denaturalise the charm of a historic place. Spelled denaturalize in American English, the verb derives from Latin naturus via 'natural' combined with the prefix de- indicating removal. It remains chiefly a term of law, politics, and journalism rather than everyday conversation.
verbTo deprive a person of citizenship or nationality, especially by an official legal act; more broadly, to remove the natural or customary character of something.
- To revoke a person's citizenship or national status by legal process.
- To remove the natural qualities or character of something; to make unnatural.
"The government moved to denaturalise citizens convicted of concealing their criminal history during the application process."
"Courts may denaturalise an individual who obtained citizenship through fraud or material misrepresentation."
"Critics argued that the new zoning laws would denaturalise the historic character of the neighbourhood."
In several countries, lying on your citizenship application years — even decades — ago can still be grounds for denaturalisation today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of denaturalise
Denaturalise combines the prefix de- (indicating reversal or removal) with 'natural', which traces back through Old French to Latin naturalis, from natura (birth, nature), itself derived from natus, past participle of nasci (to be born). The verb emerged in English in the early modern period alongside other -ise formations borrowed from French. Its cognates include the broader family of words built on the Latin root: nature, natural, naturally, and supernatural. The specific legal sense of revoking citizenship developed alongside the modern concept of naturalisation itself, which became widespread as nations formalised their immigration laws.
Related word forms
How denaturalise is actually used
Primarily formal and legal in register. In American English the spelling is 'denaturalize'. The figurative sense (removing natural character) is considerably rarer than the legal sense. Often used in passive constructions ('was denaturalised').
Easily confused with denaturalise
Denationalise means to transfer an industry or asset from state to private ownership (or strip a nation's character), whereas denaturalise specifically means revoking a person's naturalised citizenship.