What does internalize mean?
Internalize means to take in an idea, value, attitude, or piece of information and make it part of your own understanding or conduct. The word suggests more than simply hearing or memorizing something: it implies that the idea influences how one thinks, judges situations, or behaves. A person may internalize a message from a teacher, the norms of a community, or the lessons of experience. The verb is also used for principles that become deeply accepted, as when someone internalizes a commitment to honesty or environmental responsibility. It is a formal word associated with education, psychology, sociology, and personal development. In everyday speech, absorb or adopt may often convey the same basic idea, though internalize emphasizes an inward, lasting assimilation. North American English generally uses internalize, while British English commonly uses the spelling internalise.
verbTo make an idea, belief, value, or piece of knowledge part of one’s own thinking or behavior. It can also mean to adopt an attitude or principle as one’s own.
- To make an idea, belief, value, or piece of knowledge part of one’s own thinking or behavior.
- To adopt an attitude, principle, or way of acting as one’s own.
"Through years of practice, she had internalized the values of the community she was raised in."
"New employees gradually internalized the company’s emphasis on collaboration."
"He had internalized the importance of patience through years of difficult work."
Internalize describes the moment an idea stops being information you have heard and becomes something you genuinely think.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does internalize come from?
Internalize was formed in English by combining internal with the verb-forming suffix -ize. Internal ultimately comes through French from Latin internus, meaning “inner” or “interior.” Related words include interior and internality, which preserve the same basic sense of something within or inward.
Related word forms
How internalize is actually used
Internalize is formal and especially common in education, psychology, and cultural discussion. In British English, internalise is the usual spelling.
Easily confused with internalize
Internalise and internalize are the same word; internalise is the standard British spelling, while internalize is the standard North American spelling.
An intern is a person undergoing practical training, whereas to internalize an idea is to make it part of one’s own understanding or beliefs.