politicized
UK[pəˈlɪtɪsaɪzd]US[pəˈlɪtɪsaɪzd]
adj
(of an issue, event, or person) made the subject of political debate or action, often in a way that is seen as inappropriate or divisive.
verb (past tense and past participle)
to cause (an issue, event, or person) to become political in character.
Morpheme Breakdown
politic
ize
ed
politic
state, government
ize
to make, to become
ed
adjective suffix, having the quality of
Etymology
the word 'politicized' is built upon the ancient greek concept of the 'polis', the city-state that defined the public and civic sphere. the root 'politic' carries the sense of matters pertaining to the organized community or government. the addition of the suffix '-ize' transforms this noun into a verb, meaning "to make something political" or "to bring into the realm of public policy and partisan debate." finally, the '-ed' suffix adapts this verb into an adjective, describing a subject that has been subjected to this process, often implying that an originally non-political matter has been infused with partisan agendas. thus, the term encapsulates the modern action of drawing issues into the arena of political contention.
Analysis
Structure: politic (state, government) + ize (to make, to become) + ed (adjective suffix, having the quality of)
- politic: from latin 'politicus', from greek 'politikos' meaning "of citizens or the state," from 'polites' (citizen), from 'polis' (city). functions as the core root noun.
- ize: from greek '-izein', a verb-forming suffix meaning "to make, to become, to subject to." functions as a derivational suffix creating a verb.
- ed: from old english '-ed', '-od', '-ad', a suffix forming the past tense and past participle of verbs, also used to form adjectives meaning "having the quality of." functions as an inflectional/adjectival suffix.
Examples
the humanitarian crisis became highly politicized, hindering aid efforts.
some argue that the scientific data has been politicized to fit a particular agenda.
the candidate's personal life was unfairly politicized during the campaign.