denaturalize

C2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /diˈnætʃərəˌlaɪz/ UK /diːˈnætʃərəlaɪz/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to revoke or deny a person's naturalized citizenship

The government sought to denaturalize applicants who had obtained citizenship by fraud.
2

verb
to make someone or something less natural or cause it to depart from its original nature

The critic argued that rigid imitation would denaturalize the local artistic tradition.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to revoke or deny a... strip of citizenshipdeprive of nationality

2 verb · to make someone or... make unnaturaldistort alter transform

Opposites

naturalizerestore citizenshippreserve

Word family

Forms denaturalized

Derived forms denaturalization

Related forms naturalize citizenship nationality expatriate

Etymology

Formed from de- ("remove, reverse") + naturalize. The older broad sense reverses naturalize as "make natural"; the legal sense specifically reverses naturalization by withdrawing citizenship previously granted to a foreign national.

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# denaturalize

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /diˈnætʃərəˌlaɪz/
**IPA (UK):** /diːˈnætʃərəlaɪz/

## Meanings
1. to revoke or deny a person's naturalized citizenship
2. to make someone or something less natural or cause it to depart from its original nature

## Examples
- The government sought to denaturalize applicants who had obtained citizenship by fraud.
- The critic argued that rigid imitation would denaturalize the local artistic tradition.

## Synonyms
- strip of citizenship
- deprive of nationality
- make unnatural
- distort
- alter

## Antonyms
- naturalize
- restore citizenship
- preserve

## Derived Forms
- denaturalization

## Related Forms
- naturalize
- citizenship
- nationality
- expatriate

## Etymology
Formed from de- ("remove, reverse") + naturalize. The older broad sense reverses naturalize as "make natural"; the legal sense specifically reverses naturalization by withdrawing citizenship previously granted to a foreign national.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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