anthropomorphism

noun an·thro·po·mor·phism \ -ˌfi-zəm \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Definition of anthropomorphism

: an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics : humanization

Children's stories have a long tradition of anthropomorphism.

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anthropomorphist

play \-fist\ noun

Recent Examples of anthropomorphism from the Web

Although there are dangers to anthropomorphism, there is also a lot to learn about ourselves from dogs.

— author: christine cunningham, Anchorage Daily News, "I’ll tell you how easy it is to train a bird dog after my dog stops jumping on you," 9 May 2018
When companies yoke brand anthropomorphism to machine learning, recommendation engines will be irresistible.

— tad friend, The New Yorker, "How Frightened Should We Be of A.I.?," 7 May 2018
The fact that the campaigns involve masquerade, deception, and anthropomorphism—the disguising of robots as people—is part of why the IRA is charged with fraud and not acts of war.

— virginia heffernan, WIRED, "Social Media Makes Us Soldiers in the War Against Ourselves," 2 May 2018
Not too long ago, Amarello's plea could have been dismissed as well-meaning anthropomorphism.

— National Geographic, "Even Snakes Have Friends—One More Reason Not to Slaughter Them," 10 Mar. 2016
That notion didn’t always hold sway, and in some ways corrected the excessive anthropomorphism of the 19th century, when such august figures as Charles Darwin ruminated on the maternal affections of starfish and earwigs.

— brandon keim, WIRED, "Gift-Giving Birds May Think Much Like People," 4 Feb. 2013

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'anthropomorphism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of anthropomorphism

see anthropomorphic

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1650

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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