as in to poison
to make (someone) feel or behave more like an animal than a human being
six months of solitary living in the jungle would animalize anyone
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Recent Examples of animalize
Sociologist Anthony Cortese found that in popular culture black women are often othered, animalized and exoticized, associating women of color with primitivity or wild sexuality.
—
Katie Edwards, Washington Post, 14 July 2017
Katie Edwards, Washington Post, 14 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for animalize
Verb
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Morgan was previously married to Keith Whitley from 1986 to his alcohol poisoning death in 1989 at age 34.—
Rachel DeSantis,
People.com,
17 Apr. 2025
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Scores of sea lions and dolphins have been fatally poisoned in recent months by domoic acid, a neurotoxin produced by harmful algal blooms.—
Corinne Purtill,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Shawn reluctantly agrees, but is humiliated when Cory starts acting corny around his friend Gambling Dan (Phil Buckman), and his lackey, Louie (Weiss).—
EW.com,
EW.com,
16 Apr. 2025
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He must be seen standing up to foreign oppressors who seek to humiliate China and thwart its rightful rise.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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These include new ways to promote beliefs and goals, gain support, dehumanize opponents, justify violence and create doubt or dismiss inconvenient facts.—
Ernesto Verdeja,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2025
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Voigt described feeling humiliated and dehumanized by the lack of care.—
Ashley Vega,
People.com,
15 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Images of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators being tear-gassed, shot, and otherwise brutalized spread around the globe.—
Ben Ehrenreich,
Harpers Magazine,
26 Mar. 2025
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That morning, Laken was viciously attacked, assaulted, beaten, brutalized and horrifically murdered.—
NPR,
NPR,
5 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Animalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalize. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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