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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Abusers and traffickers are exploiting this lack of oversight—leaving women coerced, deceived, and sometimes poisoned.—
Christa Brown,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Sep. 2025
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Beyond the broader ecological catastrophes that await us, wildfires harm people with smoke that can travel hundreds of kilometers from the source fire, poisoning people with small particles and a portfolio of toxins.—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Inter Miami, clearly humiliated, let out its frustrations after the final whistle, when several Miami players, led by Luis Suarez, got into a scuffle with Seattle players.—
Michelle Kaufman,
Miami Herald,
1 Sep. 2025
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These violations, perpetrated primarily against Ukrainian prisoners of war, include genital violence such as electrocution, beatings and burns to the genitals, and forced stripping and prolonged nudity, used to humiliate and elicit confessions or information.—
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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But for some, the consequences of AI signal a systemic, dehumanizing transformation, where generative systems mimic not just content, but the entire ecosystem: creator, reviewer, performer, promoter, consumer.—
Emil Steiner,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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According to Taylor, Trump's rhetoric about homeless people experiencing addiction dehumanizes Americans struggling with serious illness.—
Brian Mann,
NPR,
13 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Gabe Kidd brutalized Ospreay, targeting the neck which he was set to have surgery on.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
25 Aug. 2025
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With very few exceptions, low-rent buildings are run down, services are almost impossible to obtain, and except for the fact that New Yorkers have been so brutalized by their living conditions, such housing would be uninhabitable.—
Nicholas Pileggi,
Curbed,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Animalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalize. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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