anthropomorphize

verb

an·​thro·​po·​mor·​phize ˌan(t)-thrə-pə-ˈmȯr-ˌfīz 

anthropomorphized; anthropomorphizing

transitive verb

: to attribute human form or personality to

intransitive verb

: to attribute human form or personality to things not human

anthropomorphization

ˌan(t)-thrə-pə-ˌmȯr-fə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

Examples of anthropomorphize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His presentation is classification run amok in which colors are anthropomorphized, and the world is recast as a kind of color war. —Adam Moss, Vulture, 17 Apr. 2026

The forgetting here is something of a dangerous metaphor that anthropomorphizes subatomic particles which have no consciousness. —Literary Hub, 7 Apr. 2026

Without anthropomorphizing things, contemporary AI has a similar bias or slant. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 Jan. 2026

In my graduate training, I was taught to avoid anthropomorphizing animal research subjects – to resist the temptation to project human thoughts and emotions onto nonhuman minds, because human brains likely contribute to uniquely human cognitive and emotional experiences. —Kelly Lambert, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

anthropomorph(ic) or anthropomorph(ism) + -ize

First Known Use

1825, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for anthropomorphize

• contextualize
• industrialize
• materialise
• materialize
• memorialize
• microenterprise
• overemphasize
• particularize
• revolutionise
• revolutionize
• actualize
• antagonize