Metropolitanized

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Having been transformed or developed to exhibit characteristics typical of a large urban center including cultural diversity, infrastructure, and population density
2. Being adapted to possess features associated with a major city environment such as extensive public services, economic activity, and social complexity
3. Having undergone changes that reflect the nature of a metropolitan area by incorporating urban planning, modern amenities, and a cosmopolitan lifestyle

Etymology: "Metropolitanized" is the past tense and past participle of "metropolitanize," which means to make something more urban. The verb is built from "metropolitan" and the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make or become like" that thing. "Metropolitan" itself comes from the Greek "metropolis," literally "mother city," combining "meter" (mother) with "polis" (city). The Greeks used it for a city that had founded colonies, so the parent city was the mother of its offspring. Over time the sense shifted from a parent city to a large, central city, and "metropolitan" came to describe the people and character of such places. Because "-ize" is a productive suffix, English speakers can form new verbs of this kind whenever they need one, so "metropolitanize" follows the same pattern as words like "modernize" or "urbanize."

Synonyms: urbanized, centralized, modernized, developed, municipalized

Antonyms: ruralized, decentralized, undeveloped, provincialized