institutionalized

adjective

in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al·​ized ˌin(t)-stə-ˈt(y)ü-sh(ə-)nə-ˌlīzd 

1

a

: created and controlled by an established organization

institutionalized housing

institutionalized religion

b

: established as a common and accepted part of a system or culture

institutionalized beliefs and practices

2

: placed in the care of a specialized institution

At first, the researchers … confine their studies to serial killers, mass murderers, institutionalized sociopaths …

—Marilyn Stasio

Examples of institutionalized in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Past Chinese leaders, notably Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, believed in the institutionalized processes of collective leadership. —Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 15 July 2020

The similarities in the number by type of documents across recent administrations highlight the ongoing and institutionalized role of the executive branch within the federal government. —Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 25 Sep. 2024

These narratives are then circulated, often voluntarily, sometimes through more institutionalized collaboration, by major social media influencers and massive numbers of nationalist keyboard warriors. —Taisu Zhang, Foreign Affairs, 27 Feb. 2023

Also, for me as an outsider, this was my chance to look at the American system and the utter corruption that has been an institutionalized part of it, at least from my perspective. —Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1869, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Medical Definition

institutionalized

adjective

in·​sti·​tu·​tion·​al·​ized

variants or chiefly British institutionalised

ˌin(t)-stə-ˈt(y)ü-shnəl-ˌīzd, -shən-ᵊl- 

: accustomed so firmly to the care and routine of an institution as to find independent life in the outside world difficult or unmanageable

Many prisoners who only need a drug or alcohol program become more institutionalized with each mandatory return.

—Robert L. Johnson, Undoing Time