1. to make or treat as relative rather than absolute; to view in relation to something else
Usage: third person singular present tense of ‘relativize’
2. to reduce the importance or significance of something by comparing it to other things

Examples

• The historian relativizes the importance of individual events by placing them in broader context.
• She relativizes her problems by remembering that others face greater challenges.
• The philosopher relativizes moral judgments to cultural standards.
• This theory relativizes truth claims to specific frameworks of understanding.
• The critic relativizes the artist’s achievement by comparing it to earlier works.
• Modern anthropology relativizes cultural practices rather than judging them absolutely.