dehumanize

verb

de·​hu·​man·​ize (ˌ)dē-ˈ(h)yü-mə-ˌnīz How to pronounce dehumanize (audio)
dehumanized; dehumanizing; dehumanizes

transitive verb

: to deprive (someone or something) of human qualities, personality, or dignity: such as
a
: to subject (someone, such as a prisoner) to inhuman or degrading conditions or treatment
"… you treat people with respect, you get respect back. You treat them like animals, you strip search them, you dehumanize them, you lock them up, you don't feed them … you are going to get that back … "Adelina Iftene
b
: to address or portray (someone) in a way that obscures or demeans that person's humanity or individuality
propaganda that dehumanizes the enemy
I'm always struck by the way language is used to dehumanize others.Anna Lind-Guzik
Treating Chicagoland violence as merely a tally necessarily dehumanizes its victims, but it also obscures so much of the larger story about that violence.Gene Demby
But that approach ignores the fundamental dynamics of racism, which dehumanizes people along crude lines, ignoring any internal distinctions among those with broadly similar looks, treating them all as uniformly suspicious.Sangay K. Mishra
c
: to remove or reduce human involvement or interaction in (something, such as a process or place)
Nurses are also fearful that the use of technology will dehumanize patient care.Laurie A. Huryk
Social media dehumanizes personal interactions, taking them out of the dining room, the neighborhood store and workplace and into a nowhere we call cyberspace.Kay S. Hymowitz
"To me, Ms. Cao [Fei] is trying to portray that, even in a dehumanized environment like the automated warehouse, you need that inspiration or that order from up high."David Barboza

Examples of dehumanize in a Sentence

Inspectors have observed terrible factory conditions that dehumanize workers. the dehumanizing nature of torture
Recent Examples on the Web That movement pushed back, in part, against the unchecked use of A.I., which, the strikers argued, threatens to dehumanize the creative work force. Beatrice Loayza, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024 Previous research found that essentialist assumptions are linked to a range of negative consequences, including gender stereotyping and dehumanizing women, as well as providing support for discriminatory behavior, the study’s authors said. Nick Morrison, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 Even if the film ultimately strays too far into virtuosic theatricality, betraying its origins, La Cocina is a gripping reflection on the dehumanizing grind of labor and the ways that its soul-crushing routines stifle hope. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2024 Some other Israeli officials have also faced criticism for dehumanizing language. Erica L. Green, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2024 This term, not yet widely recognized, describes the cumulative experience of being disregarded, unprotected, undervalued or dehumanized by an employer. Steve Salee, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Nevertheless, some have criticized the move from the airline, saying that collecting weight data on customers is dehumanizing. Anna Gordon, TIME, 9 Feb. 2024 The trope has often been used to dehumanize non-White people. Ramishah Maruf, CNN, 2 Feb. 2024 This racialized hatred dehumanized Jews and helped everyday Germans to tolerate the systematic murder of six million Jews during the Holocaust. TIME, 6 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dehumanize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dehumanize was in 1818

Dictionary Entries Near dehumanize

Cite this Entry

“Dehumanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dehumanize. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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