Meaning & use
thematize
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Meanings
verbtransitive
To make something the central topic or organizing idea of a discussion, text or artwork.
Grammar: Takes an object: the novel thematizes loss.
Patterns
- thematize something
- thematize something as something
The film thematizes the tension between family loyalty and personal ambition.
Her essay thematizes memory in postwar literature.
The curriculum thematizes climate change across all subjects.
verbtransitivebusiness
To arrange or design a place or event around a particular theme.
Grammar: Takes an object; usually in the past participle: a thematized restaurant.
Patterns
- be thematized around something
The hotel thematized each floor around a different country.
Designers thematized the park around ocean life.
The cafe is thematized to resemble a library.
Word forms
| third person singular | thematizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | thematized |
| past participle | thematized |
| -ing form | thematizing |
Common combinations
- thematize a topic
- The documentary thematizes the topic of migration.
- thematize identity
- The poems thematize identity and belonging.
- explicitly thematize
- The report explicitly thematizes inequality.
- thematize the experience
- The park tries to thematize the experience of travel.
Synonyms and how they differ
- explore
- Explore is broader and friendlier, while thematize says the topic runs through the whole work.
- foreground
- Foreground stresses making something prominent, whereas thematize makes it the central theme.
- address
- Address is a plain verb for dealing with a topic, with no sense of it being the main theme.
Opposites
Word family
- theme noun
- a central idea
- thematic adjective
- relating to a theme
- thematization noun
- the act of making something a theme
- thematically adverb
- in terms of theme
Commonly confused: thematize or themed?
thematize vs themed
Themed describes a place built around a theme, while thematize is the verb for making a theme.
Practice
The play ____ guilt, returning to it in every scene.
Choose one answer.
Thematizes means makes guilt the central, recurring theme. Mentions once contradicts the idea of returning to it in every scene.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thematize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.