ˈdepyəˌtīz also ÷ -pə- verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Usage: see -ize
Etymology: deputy + -ize
transitive verb
1. : to appoint as deputy : make into a deputy especially by an official swearing in
2. : to entrust to a deputy
friends would like to see him deputize part of his mountainous work to lieutenants — Li Shu-Fan
intransitive verb
1. : to act as deputy
a dearth of princes who could deputize for the sovereign — Times Literary Supplement
2. : to act or function as a substitute in another's place
if photography was ever allowed to deputize for art … in the end it would either supplant or completely corrupt art — Douglas Cooper