finalize
verb
D. D. EisenhowerNewsweek
Usage of Finalize
Finalize has been frequently castigated as an unnecessary neologism or as U.S. government gobbledygook. It appears to have first gained currency in Australia (where it has been acceptable all along) in the early 1920s. The U.S. Navy picked it up in the late 20s, and from there it came into widespread use. It is a standard formation (see -ize). Currently, it is most frequently used in government and business dealings; it usually is not found in belles-lettres.
Examples of finalize in a Sentence
Danny Nguyen, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
One group was finalizing a political agreement on the council, while the other was discussing the executive order needed to formalize it.
—Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
County election officials must finalize their official tallies by Thursday, with the secretary of state’s office expected to certify election results on April 12.
—Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Scott and April finalized their respective divorces in 2017 and got married in 2020, planning to partake in ethical non-monogamy and embrace their LGBTQ+ identities.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
The deal was finalized in February, with the nonprofit that runs The Daily Iowan taking over the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Sun and the Solon Economist.
—Heather Hollingsworth, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Apr. 2024
The Company fully expects this review process to be finalized within the next 2 weeks, at which time the Company will be able to post its Annual Report for fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 and return to Current Information status.
—Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
Following the delegate vote to move forward in March, No Labels entered a second phase to finalize the group's candidate selection process.
—Kelsey Walsh, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2024
Musk last week said Tesla would require employees to install and show customers how to use FSD before finalizing a delivery in North America, in a push to drive up sales.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 1 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'finalize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Finalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/finalize. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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