Meaning & use
Pathologizes
Last updated
Treats or interprets a behavior, condition, or trait as abnormal or symptomatic of disease.
See it in a sentence
Critics argue the manual pathologizes ordinary grief as a mental disorder.
The article pathologizes shyness, framing it as a clinical anxiety condition.
A note on using this word
This verb is common in social science and psychology writing, often used critically to describe overreach in labeling normal behavior as illness.
Words with a similar meaning
medicalizesdiagnoses
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
normalizes
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