compartmentalize

verb

com·​part·​men·​tal·​ize kəm-ˌpärt-ˈmen-tə-ˌlīz 

ˌkäm-

compartmentalized; compartmentalizing

transitive verb

: to separate into isolated compartments or categories

compartmentalization

kəm-ˌpärt-ˌmen-tə-lə-ˈzā-shən 

ˌkäm-

noun

Synonyms

• assort
• break down
• categorize
• class
• classify
• codify
• compartment
• digest
• distinguish
• distribute
• grade
• group
• peg
• place
• range
• rank
• relegate
• separate
• sort
• type

Examples of compartmentalize in a Sentence

He compartmentalizes his life by keeping his job and his personal life separate.

The company has compartmentalized its services.

Recent Examples on the Web

The problem is that the games often compartmentalize their themes and moments of character development as a result. —Josh Broadwell, Rolling Stone, 15 Oct. 2024

It‘s the civilized, patriarchal world that drives her to drink—and Shauna to despair, and Taissa to compartmentalize her political aspirations into one box and, er, blood sacrifice into another. —Judy Berman, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024

Down: The way that Petra is able to be good at her job is to compartmentalize things. —Alison Herman, Variety, 30 Sep. 2024

In a way, she’s disassociated from that and compartmentalized it in some sociopathic, pathological way. —Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above