to weaponize

26 7.9

To change something so people can use it to attack or control others

verb
/ˈwɛpənaɪz/

: instrumentalizar

And the people who do understand it are weaponizing the systems.

And so the Holocaust was weaponized against the Soviet Union.

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Examples

The hackers tried to weaponize the software to disrupt the election process.
I mean, I think we were the ones that weaponized energy first.
These are people that weaponize everything I just talked about.
Any time we decide to weaponize it, we can do so rather quickly.

Academic text (2009)
But you can also weaponize that and hide behind it.
Yet we know enough for nations to weaponize viruses and bacteria.

Academic text (2010)
Basically, the US weaponized the financial system against Russia.
Everyone sees how China weaponizes influence in economic power.

ReasonTV
And in essence, they are weaponizing your loyalty.

DoctorRamani
The AI our agent stole, once weaponized could be transmitted anywhere in the world via satellite.

Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

Synonyms

to militarize

vsto weaponize

11 7.3

To put soldiers and weapons into a country or group to make it act like an army

turn an item into a tool used to attack or gain advantage

Antonyms

to disarm

93 3.9

To take weapons from a person or group so they cannot use them

How Weaponized

to weaponize

26 7.9

to arm

119 3.7

to modify

268 3.2

to use

∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

weaponize infinitive

weaponized past

weaponized past participle

weaponizing present participle

weaponizes third person singular

Morphology

weaponize = weapon (transparent) = weapon + ize

Formed by the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize' meaning 'to make or turn into', so the meaning is directly derived from 'weapon'.

Etymology

Weaponize comes from weapon ('tool for fighting') plus the ending -ize ('to make or use'), like in modernize. So, to weaponize something is to turn it into a weapon or use it to attack or gain an advantage.