"Iron is galvanized, rubber vulcanized, corn hybridized, salt iodized, people hypnotized. But we agonized when President Kennedy utilized and Merriam-Webster dictionary authorized the word finalized." — The New York Herald Tribune, 26 Dec. 1961
About the Word:
More than one of our presidents have felt the sting of public opprobrium for employing the dreaded word finalize in their speeches. At a press conference in November of 1961, President Kennedy responded to a reporter’s query by saying "We have not finalized any plans." A measure of outrage ensued.
Before Kennedy committed this ostensibly grievous blunder, President Eisenhower had caught flak for the same word. The New York Times, in a 1961 article about Kennedy’s usage, quoted an unnamed 'grieving linguist' as saying "Eisenhower began the process, and Kennedy is finalizing it."
A number of people had been guarding the English language against the intrusions of the word finalize for decades at this point, usually on the grounds that it was commonly used as business jargon. This position conveniently overlooks that the word had been in use since at least 1780.
Definition:
: to put (something, such as a plan or an agreement) in a final or finished form
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