What does naturalized mean?
Naturalized describes something that has been made natural, ordinary, or adapted to its surroundings, and it can also describe a person who has become a citizen. In ecology, the word often refers to a species introduced into a region where it has become established and can reproduce without ongoing human help. Linguists may use it for a language whose vocabulary or grammar has been influenced by another language. The word is also associated with the broader process of adapting to a new environment while retaining a recognizable identity. As an adjective, naturalized usually functions as the past participle of naturalize; as a verb, it names the action of making something natural, introducing it to a new setting, or granting citizenship. The term is generally formal and specialized rather than conversational, although its central idea—becoming at home in a new place—gives it a broad and familiar application.
Having been made natural, ordinary, or adapted to local conditions; especially, having become established in a new region without human assistance or having acquired citizenship.
"The museum studies a naturalized population of Mediterranean plants growing in the Pacific Northwest."
In ecology, it typically denotes an introduced species that is self-sustaining; in legal contexts, it is common in “naturalized citizen.”
To make something natural or give it the character of something natural; to introduce and establish a plant or other organism in a new environment; to confer citizenship on someone.
"The government naturalized the scholar after she completed the required residency requirements."
The verb may be transitive or intransitive, as in “the species naturalized in a few decades.”
From a citizen who has gained a new home to a species that thrives far from its native range, “naturalized” captures the process of becoming fully at home in an unfamiliar setting.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How naturalized is actually used
The term is most common in technical, legal, and academic contexts. In ecology, “naturalized species” refers to an introduced organism that can reproduce and spread without continuing human assistance. In citizenship contexts, it can sound formal and may imply a long process of legal and social integration. The spelling naturalised is standard in British English.
Easily confused with naturalized
Naturalised is the British spelling of naturalized and has the same meanings; American English usually uses naturalized.
Nationalized means brought under government ownership or control, whereas naturalized means made natural, established in a new environment, or granted citizenship.