Transitiveizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert or change a verb so that it takes a direct object, thereby making it transitive in grammatical use
2. The process of modifying a verb form or usage so it can govern a direct object within a sentence structure
3. Altering a verb to function transitively by enabling it to directly affect an object or recipient of the action described

Etymology: "Transitivizes" is a verb formed from the adjective "transitive" with the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make or treat as." "Transitive" itself comes from Latin "transitivus," meaning "passing over," built from "transire," "to go across." In grammar, a transitive verb is one that passes its action across to a direct object, so the word carries that image of an action crossing from subject to object. The "-ize" ending has a long history in English, entering through Late Latin "-izare," which came from Greek "-izein," and it became a productive way to coin verbs in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially in technical fields. "Transitivize" is one of those grammatical coinages, used by linguists to describe processes that turn intransitive verbs into transitive ones, as in "the bell rang" becoming "he rang the bell."

Synonyms: make transitive, causativize, transitivize, convert to transitive, verbalize

Antonyms: intransitivize, make intransitive, de-transitive, deactivate transitivity, deverbalize