Valorize

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈvæləˌraɪz/

Definitions

1. To enhance the perceived merit of an object or idea, thus attributing greater significance to it in various contexts, while also promoting its importance in social or economic landscapes
2. To assign greater worth to a concept or item, thereby elevating its importance in social or economic realms while recognizing its value overall
3. To raise the value or importance attributed to something, especially in social or economic contexts

Etymology: "Valorize" is a back-formation: English speakers took the noun "valorization" and stripped off its ending to create a verb, reversing the usual direction in which words are built. The noun came first, and the verb was made from it afterwards, so "valorize" is younger than the word it grew from. That noun traces back to the French "valoriser," built on the same stem as "valeur," meaning value. Its underlying roots lie in Latin "valere," to be strong or to be worth something. Much of the word's modern weight comes from its economic use, where it describes a government or agency propping up the price of a commodity, such as coffee or sugar, to protect producers from falling market prices. The verb carries that sense of deliberately raising worth into broader uses about recognizing the value of people, ideas or things.

Synonyms: esteem, value, appraise

Antonyms: devalue, undervalue, disparage