dehumanizing
adjective
de·hu·man·iz·ing
(ˌ)dē-ˈ(h)yü-mə-ˌnī-ziŋ 
: depriving someone of human qualities, personality, or dignity : demeaning or damaging to a person's humanity or individuality
a dehumanizing caricature/slur
dehumanizing statistics
Before even being allowed to call a lawyer, the arrestee is faced with the dehumanizing treatment of a strip search …—
John W. Whitehead
John W. WhiteheadThis kind of language is deliberately dehumanizing: the athlete is referred to not as a person but as a "brand", throughout.—Felix Salmon
Felix SalmonInmates at the South Carolina prison cited dehumanizing conditions such as a lack of sunlight, poor and insufficient food, and few rehabilitative programs as reasons they lost hope.—Aaron Cantú
Aaron CantúNot only are writers selling their products, they essentially become their products: author as commodity. It's a weirdly dehumanizing experience.—Rachel Donadio
Rachel Donadio… the dehumanizing nastiness of having your intimate personal photos hacked …—Joe Fay
Joe FayExamples of dehumanizing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Aside from using a variety of dehumanizing terms, the mandate signals an intent to attack trans women in sports, end gender-affirming care for minors, decrease accessibility for gender-reassignment surgeries and reinstate Trump's trans military ban.
—Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 11 July 2024
In February, about 140,000 did so, according to officials, and Trump has been all too happy to cite those newcomers, often in dehumanizing terms, as an explanation for all that ails America.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
In 2021, Twitter’s then-safety team published an essay in defense of anonymity, although Twitter at that time was different in other ways, including its enforcement of a policy against hateful or dehumanizing imagery.
—David Ingram, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2024
There is a belief that the modern justice system, which essentially requires a suspect to deny their guilt, doesn’t help a survivor heal, and the dehumanizing conditions of prison certainly aren’t a rehabilitative environment for violators.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dehumanizing 
Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 11 July 2024
In February, about 140,000 did so, according to officials, and Trump has been all too happy to cite those newcomers, often in dehumanizing terms, as an explanation for all that ails America.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 5 Apr. 2024
In 2021, Twitter’s then-safety team published an essay in defense of anonymity, although Twitter at that time was different in other ways, including its enforcement of a policy against hateful or dehumanizing imagery.
—David Ingram, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2024
There is a belief that the modern justice system, which essentially requires a suspect to deny their guilt, doesn’t help a survivor heal, and the dehumanizing conditions of prison certainly aren’t a rehabilitative environment for violators.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 27 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dehumanizing
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dehumanizing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Dehumanizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dehumanizing. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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