I. -ise /aɪz/ BrE AmE suffix [in verbs]
a British spelling of ↑ -ize
II. -ize BrE AmE ( also -ise British English ) /aɪz/ suffix [in verbs]
[ Language: Old French ; Origin: -iser , from Late Latin -izare , from Greek -izein ]
1 . to make something have more of a particular quality:
We need to modernize our procedures. (=make them more modern)
Americanized spelling (=spelling made more American)
privatized transport (=bus or train services that are owned and operated by private companies)
2 . to change something to something else, or be changed to something else:
The liquid crystallized (=turned into ↑ crystal s ) .
3 . to speak or think in the way mentioned:
to soliloquize (=speak a ↑ soliloquy , to yourself)
I sat and listened to him sermonizing (=speaking solemnly, as if in a ↑ sermon ) .
4 . to put into a particular place:
She was hospitalized after the accident.