to topicalize

1 9.9

To move a word or phrase to the start of a sentence to show it is important

verb
/ˈtɑːpɪkəˌlaɪz/

Specialized

: topicalizar

So if I said I will find red books, well, you'd be able to topicalize red books.

Examples

To enhance comprehension, the teacher instructed students to topicalize the main idea of their paragraphs during their presentations.
When discussing the latest trends, the presenter chose to topicalize social media effects by putting them first in the discussion.
With the spray technique, the nose is topicalized in the standard fashion for nasolaryngoscopy with lidocaine and phenylephrine sprays.

Academic text (2004)
In order to emphasize the importance of teamwork, the speaker decided to topicalize collaboration in her introduction.

Antonyms

to de-emphasize

4 5.3

Make something seem less important

How Emphatic

to spotlight

17 4.0

to emphasize

321 3.7

to highlight

301 3.3

to topicalize

Specialized

1 9.9

to point out

∞ 1.8

to mention

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

topicalize infinitive

topicalized past

topicalized past participle

topicalizing present participle

topicalizes third person singular

Morphology

topicalize = topical (transparent) = topic + al + ize

The verb is formed by adding the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize' to the adjective 'topical', giving the straightforward meaning 'make or treat as topical'.

Etymology

The word topicalize comes from topic ('subject') and the ending -ize ('make'). So to topicalize something is to 'make' it the topic or move it into the 'place' of the sentence where it is most important, which is why in grammar it means to show it is important by putting it at the beginning.