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

Use LLCs to separate personal and business assets and ensure your liabilities are compartmentalized. —Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025

But then there is something to be said for ignoring and compartmentalizing. —Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 4 June 2025

During the eighteen-forties, the antislavery movement was splintering over the question of whether such crusades should be compartmentalized, either for tactical reasons or because some of its male adherents felt that women should stay out of politics altogether. —James Marcus, New Yorker, 2 June 2025

Melissa: My ability to compartmentalize things and really deeply compartmentalize things. —Outside Online, 28 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for compartmentalize

• contextualize
• industrialize
• materialise
• materialize
• memorialize
• microenterprise
• overemphasize
• particularize
• revolutionise
• revolutionize
• actualize
• antagonize