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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But Trump has poisoned those relationships through his intemperate demands and threats.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Aug. 2025
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Given the scale of the U.S.'s deficits, the patient may already be poisoned.—
Clem Chambers,
Forbes.com,
4 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Luthor’s ultimate defeat is an unmasking that humiliates him by confirming his own worst fears about himself.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
16 July 2025
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Coach Ruben Amorim publicly humiliated him before a loan move to Aston Villa for the final half of the campaign.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
20 July 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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Of course, Hamas is wrong to dehumanize Palestinians by turning them into human shields, but this is no excuse for Israel to dehumanize Gazans, treating their plight merely as collateral damage.—
Michael S. Roth,
Time,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The gang developed a reputation for torturing, brutalizing and dismembering its victims.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
12 June 2025
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Kraft, who remains incarcerated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, was convicted of brutalizing and killing 16 men during a decadelong series of slayings in Orange County, California, that ended with his arrest.—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
10 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Animalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalize. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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