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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Some believe that’s by design, that the show has been poisoned on purpose.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
4 June 2026
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By Chris Boyette, CNN A California judge dismissed charges against a dermatologist accused of poisoning her husband with liquid drain cleaner, ruling that the Orange County District Attorney’s Office had withheld evidence from the grand jury that indicted her.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
Verb
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As long as Iran doesn’t humiliate Trump by restarting its nuclear program, the president can call it a win.—
Thomas Wright,
The Atlantic,
4 June 2026
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In the ongoing fight for women’s equal rights, Pawol had proved a female baseball umpire can be second-guessed, proved wrong and humiliated by technology and mocked by howling fans on social media just like a man can.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
2 June 2026
Verb
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The answer is not to dehumanize us.—
Heather Abbott,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
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In each project, shifting scale becomes a way to recover empathy from systems that abstract and dehumanize.—
Emily Watlington,
ARTnews.com,
24 May 2026
Verb
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Family Photo The family had fled the Congo after Carine, an activist, was brutalized for speaking out against the ruling regime.—
Jim Axelrod,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
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The Original brutalized El Grande Americano II back inside the ring.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Animalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalize. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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