demonize

verb

de·​mon·​ize ˈdē-mə-ˌnīz 

demonized; demonizing; demonizes

transitive verb

: to portray (someone or something) as evil or as worthy of contempt or blame : vilify

But the Senate hearings have a broader purpose than exposing I.R.S. sins. They are a central element in a campaign by Congressional Republicans to demonize the tax agency, already the least loved of all Government bureaucracies.

—John M. Broder

The 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

Violence 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

For those who would forge a new environmental ethic, there is a constant temptation to demonize technology and deify nature.

—Gina Maranto

demonization

ˌdē-mə-nə-ˈzā-shən 

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

Examples of demonize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In Tactics, the Church weaponizes religion to whip people into a frenzy, stirring up conflict by demonizing entire groups. —Hayes Madsen, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2025

Watch the clip of Kanye West demonizing the Black Lives Matter movement below. —Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 22 Sep. 2025

But surely demonizing immigrants and racial minorities — day after day, year after year — makes violence against them more likely to occur. —Jonathan Zimmerman, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025

But politicians who score points by demonizing, pundits who profit off outrage and citizens who spread toxic narratives online all contribute to a climate where violence becomes easier to imagine. —Marly Berlin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for demonize

• advertise
• aggrandize
• agonize
• alibis
• alkalies
• alkalis
• amortize
• amplifies
• analyse
• analyze
• anywise
• authorize