Relexicalize

verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To change the lexicon of; to use different words for. transitive

    "For example, in British newspapers, […] the process of telling someone off or reprimanding them is relexicalized as 'rap'. To criticize strongly is to 'blast' or 'slam', and to investigate is to 'probe'."

  2. 2
    To borrow or adopt back into a lexicon. transitive

    "to relexicalize a word"

Example

More examples

"For example, in British newspapers, […] the process of telling someone off or reprimanding them is relexicalized as 'rap'. To criticize strongly is to 'blast' or 'slam', and to investigate is to 'probe'."

Etymology

From re- + lexicalize.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.