What does interiorized mean?
Interiorized means brought within oneself and incorporated into one's beliefs, values, attitudes, or identity. The word usually describes something that has become an internal part of a person's character rather than an external opinion that can be changed easily. For example, an interiorized prejudice is a prejudice that a person has absorbed and may unconsciously reproduce, while interiorized values may guide that person's decisions and conduct. As a past-tense or past-participle verb form, interiorized can also describe the completion of that process: someone has interiorized a principle or standard. The term appears particularly in academic and social-science prose, although it is fully standard in general English. Both interiorized and the more common internalized are accepted, but their distributions differ somewhat. Interiorized is somewhat more associated with technical and analytical discussion, including psychology, education, sociology, and discussions of identity and culture.
Brought within oneself and incorporated into one's beliefs, values, attitudes, or identity.
"The teacher recognized that the bias had become deeply interiorized among the students."
Often used of a belief or attitude that has become part of a person's character and continues to influence behavior.
To make internal, especially by absorbing a belief, value, attitude, or principle into oneself.
"Through years of practice, she had interiorized the discipline required to write precise reports."
This is the past tense and past participle of the less common variant interiorize; internalized is more frequent in general usage.
Interiorized ideas are no longer outside you: they have become part of how you see the world.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does interiorized come from?
Interiorized was formed in modern English from interior and the suffix -ize, with -ed marking a completed action or participial adjective. Interior ultimately comes from Latin interior, the comparative form meaning “inner” and based on inter, “between.” Its English relatives include interior, interiority, and interiorly, while intermediate belongs more broadly to the same Latin inter root.
Related word forms
How interiorized is actually used
The term is especially common in academic, psychological, educational, and social-science contexts. It usually describes a belief or attitude that has been incorporated into the self and now influences thought or behavior; it is not synonymous with merely being mentally recalled.
Easily confused with interiorized
Internalized is the more common spelling in general use, while interiorized is a fully standard alternative and is especially frequent in academic and social-science writing.