anonymize
|a-non-y-mize|
🇺🇸
/əˈnɑːnəˌmaɪz/
🇬🇧
/əˈnɒnɪmaɪz/
remove name/identity
Etymology
'anonymize' originates from the adjective 'anonymous' plus the English verb-forming suffix '-ize'; 'anonymous' ultimately derives from Greek 'anonymos', where the prefix 'an-' meant 'without' and 'onym(‑)/onyma' meant 'name'.
'anonymous' entered English via Latin/French from Greek 'anonymos'; the verb 'anonymize' was formed in English by adding '-ize' to 'anonymous' to mean 'make anonymous' (formed in modern English usage, especially from the 19th–20th century onward).
Initially the root meant 'without a name'; over time this developed into the modern verb meaning 'to remove names or identifying information' and, in technical contexts, 'to remove or mask identifiers in data'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
to make anonymous; to remove or obscure identifying information about a person from a document, dataset, or record.
The researcher anonymized the survey responses before sharing the dataset.
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Verb 2
to conceal the identity of the author or source of a text or statement; to publish or present without attribution.
The document was anonymized to protect the whistleblower.
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Last updated: 2025/12/03 10:57