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to stabilize

to stabilize

75 4.3
To become steady and stop changing
  • verb
  • /ˈsteɪbəˌlaɪz/
  • US
translation icon : estabilizarse
  • In all these jobs, he helped brainstorm and develop plans of action for stabilizing PSA membership.
  • rates have stabilized
  • temperature has stabilized
  • stabilize at a level

Is this going to stabilize, get better or get worse?

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Examples

  • After several adjustments, the aircraft began to stabilize at cruising altitude.

  • Organizations often undergo a series of rapid changes and stabilize until the next round of rapid changes occurs.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Is this going to stabilize, get better or get worse?

  • Rich nations need the involvement of the poor to stabilize the climate.

    Academic text (1999)
  • The pressure is now beginning to stabilize as Baker fights his way to his feet.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • If mega caps do not stabilize, I believe almost all stocks will probably follow them down.

  • By the time the situation stabilized, more than 300,000 homes and businesses were left without power.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Market is stabilizing for petrol, healthy backlog for machinery.

  • American exports were growing, the exchange rate had stabilized, and the threat now was that a ban on foreign credit might shut off the export LED boom.

  • His vital signs are stabilizing, but he's still unresponsive.

Synonyms

to settle
vsto stabilize
540 2.8

To become calm and still after movement or excitement

is more general meaning stop changing and hold that condition
to balance
vsto stabilize
285 2.0

To keep something steady so it does not fall

focuses more on ending change and keeping the result unchanged
to steady
vsto stabilize
41 3.4

To make yourself or something stop moving

is about stopping change and keeping that state over time
to hold steady
vsto stabilize
17 2.9

Keep something or someone in place and still

is about making or stopping change and then keeping that condition
to level off
vsto stabilize
17 3.9

Become steady after rising or falling

is broader and applies to any stop of change not only after rises
to equilibrate
vsto stabilize
1 8.6

To become or make something balanced

is broader in stopping movement or change and keeping conditions unchanged
to equilibrize
vsto stabilize
9.9

To make something balanced, for example temperature or teams

is about stopping movement and keeping one condition over time
to steady the ship
vsto stabilize
6.1

To make a situation calm and stable during a difficult time

is broader meaning stop change not just emergency restoration

Antonyms

To make something less stable, safe, or likely to succeed

How Stable

to settle
540 2.8
to stabilize
  • US
75 4.3
to waver
12 4.8
to fluctuate
52 6.3

Surface Forms

stabilize infinitive
stabilized past
stabilized past participle
stabilizing present participle
stabilizes third person singular

Morphology

stabilize = stable (transparent) = stable + ize

The intransitive sense 'become stable' is a straightforward meaning extension of 'stable' with the suffix '-ize', so learners can infer it from the base adjective.

Etymology

Stabilize comes from the Latin word stabilis and the English word stable, which mean 'firm' or 'standing', so when something stabilizes it becomes steady and stops changing.