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Glite Dictionary
to mentalize

to mentalize

8.8
To think about your own or other people's thoughts and feelings
  • verb
  • /ˈmɛn.təl.aɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : mentalizar
  • These are things like mentalising the ability to inhibit prepotent responses, which is basically not to let the red mist rise when somebody.

Examples

  • Mentalize.

    Rocky V (1990)

  • This mind blindedness theory has guided the successful search for the neural basis of mentalizing and its failures.

  • It can be difficult to mentalize what someone else is feeling if they do not express it clearly.

  • Therapists often help their clients to mentalize their emotions and thoughts for better self-understanding.

  • Children learn to mentalize the perspectives of their peers as part of their social development.

Synonyms

to see
vsto mentalize
∞ 1.0

To understand what something means

focuses on interpreting others' inner thoughts and feelings rather than mere awareness
to understand
vsto mentalize
∞ 1.0

To feel sorry and see why someone acts or feels that way

focuses specifically on interpreting others' thoughts, feelings, and intentions
to read mind
vsto mentalize
  • Informal
69 7.7

To know what another person is thinking without them saying it

uses inference and interpretation rather than claiming direct knowledge
to apprehend
vsto mentalize
  • Formal
9 4.3

To understand the meaning of something

aims at interpreting people’s thoughts, feelings, and intentions
to psychologize
vsto mentalize
1 8.2

Explain someone's actions by saying their thoughts or feelings caused them

focuses on inferring mental states in people not on applying theory

Antonyms

to misunderstand
53 1.8

To think something is true when it is not

How Accurate

to know
∞ 1.0
to understand
∞ 1.0
to mentalize
  • Specialized
8.8
to infer
57 5.5
to interpret
386 3.3
guess
768 1.0

Surface Forms

mentalize infinitive
mentalized past
mentalized past participle
mentalizing present participle
mentalizes third person singular

Morphology

mentalize = mental (semi-transparent) = mental + ize

Formed by the adjective 'mental' + the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize'; the specialised psycholinguistic sense 'attribute mental states' may not be fully predictable to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Mentalize comes from mental ('mind') and the verb ending -ize that means 'to make' or 'to do'. So to mentalize is to 'make into mind', in other words to understand someone's actions by thinking about their thoughts and feelings.