BESTIALIZE Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

bestialize

verb

Definition of bestialize

as in to humiliate

to make (someone) feel or behave more like an animal than a human being men who had been bestialized by war

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bestialize

Verb

In their first national title game, the Wildcats humiliated Oklahoma in the national semifinal by 44, and in their second, demoralized Michigan in the title game by 17.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
After being publicly humiliated by Daemon Targaryen and lured to switch sides (with his dragon) to the Greens by Ormund Hightower, party animal Ulf is still drunk and MIA when the battle starts.

— Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of humiliate

Verb

Trump is also poisoning the process at a moment when the system for casting votes in the United States really does need shoring up.

— Amy Davidson Sorkin, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
An unknown person has been poisoning mature pine trees at Burnt Cedar Beach in Incline Village since 2022, with 16 more trees targeted this July and August — a case some suspect involves a wealthy resident trying to improve their view of Lake Tahoe.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 15 Aug. 2026

Definition of poison

Verb

The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan five years ago ushered in an era of dehumanizing restrictions for women and girls.

— Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 15 Aug. 2026
LeFlouria tells the story from the perspectives of a number of Black women through history, centering the specific humanity of victims of a system that seeks to dehumanize.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of dehumanize

Verb

In 2022, two corrections officers at the Laurens County Detention Center in South Carolina were arrested and charged with brutalizing an inmate and using a GLOVE device to repeatedly stun them, CNN noted.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026
Each competitor was giving it their all with brutalizing chops, tough suplexes and going above and beyond to try to win that championship.

— Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of brutalize

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

bestiality

bestialize

bestialized

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bestialize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bestialize. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of bestialize

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

divulge

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes