crystalize

1. 1.

   make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear

   “Could you clarify these remarks?”

   “Clear up the question of who is at fault”

   Synonymsclearclear upshed light oncrystallizecrystallisecrystalisestraighten outsort outenlightenilluminateelucidate

   Broaderclarify
2. 2.

   cause to form crystals or assume crystalline form

   “crystallize minerals”

   Synonymscrystallizecrystallisecrystalise

   Broaderchange integrity

   physics

3. 3.

   assume crystalline form; become crystallized

   Synonymscrystallizecrystaliseeffloresce

   Broadersolidify

   Narrowerdevitrify
4. 4.

   cause to take on a definite and clear shape

   “He tried to crystallize his thoughts”

   Synonymscrystallizecrystallisecrystalise

   Broadershape

Other forms of crystalize

past tense

crystalized·

present participle

crystalizing·

third person

crystalizes·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about crystalize

What does crystalize mean?

crystalize means "make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear". That is the primary sense; the word has 4 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in crystalize?

crystalize has 3 syllables: cry-sta-lize. The stress falls on "cry".

What is another word for crystalize?

Close synonyms include clear, clear up, shed light on, crystallize, crystallise. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is crystalize a common word?

crystalize is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.