demonize
verb
de·mon·ize
ˈdē-mə-ˌnīz 
demonized; demonizing; demonizes
: to portray (someone or something) as evil or as worthy of contempt or blame : vilify
Unlike previous generations, they have grown up with technology. They don't expect it to bring about utopia, nor do they demonize it.—
Katie Hafner
Katie HafnerThe point is not to demonize business leaders. Their reasons for not hiring make eminent sense, given the incentives of the marketplace and the imperative to remain competitive.—Zachary Karabell
Zachary KarabellViolence in the media has become the whipping boy of choice in these hypocritical times. It's easier to demonize a movie screen than to deal with the thorny issues of crime, racism, drugs, poverty and gun control.—Peter Travers
Peter TraversFor those who would forge a new environmental ethic, there is a constant temptation to demonize technology and deify nature.—Gina Maranto
Gina Maranto
demonization
noun
plural demonizations
In the Washington of Clinton and Gingrich, Dole and Buchanan, … the demonization of one's political foes has reached an epic frenzy.
—Stryker McGuire and David Ansen
Stryker McGuire and David Ansen
Examples of demonize in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Menopause itself is being demonized unfairly, with every symptom of aging, relationship problems, and fit of crabbiness being blamed on it.
—Patricia Bencivenga, STAT, 8 Jan. 2026
Paradoxically, the same workers who are exploited for their labor while paying into benefits for other Americans and getting nothing in return themselves are demonized and subject to an increasingly hostile enforcement regime.
—Thomas Kennedy, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2026
The laws now being demonized are the very reason the Documerica photos are images of the past, not the present.
—James Salzman, The Conversation, 5 Jan. 2026
But Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin repeatedly told The Center Square that demonizing ICE was leading to a huge increase in assaults on agents.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 1 Jan. 2026
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Patricia Bencivenga, STAT, 8 Jan. 2026
Paradoxically, the same workers who are exploited for their labor while paying into benefits for other Americans and getting nothing in return themselves are demonized and subject to an increasingly hostile enforcement regime.
—Thomas Kennedy, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2026
The laws now being demonized are the very reason the Documerica photos are images of the past, not the present.
—James Salzman, The Conversation, 5 Jan. 2026
But Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin repeatedly told The Center Square that demonizing ICE was leading to a huge increase in assaults on agents.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 1 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for demonize
Cite this Entry
“Demonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/demonize. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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