1. plural of canonization; the official declaration by the Roman Catholic Church that a deceased person is a saint
Usage: religious context; formal
2. plural of canonization; the act of treating something as authoritative or standard; formal acceptance or approval
Usage: figurative; general usage

Examples

• The canonizations of several medieval saints were celebrated by the Church last year.
• Pope Francis has overseen more canonizations than any pope in recent history.
• The canonizations of these figures recognized their extraordinary contributions to faith and charity.
• The literary canonizations of Shakespeare's works established him as the greatest English playwright.
• Academic canonizations of certain theories can sometimes limit new research directions.
• The canonizations of these practices in the industry became standard across all companies.