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

This caution is surprising in a writer who has elsewhere been fearless about identity and America, attentive to the country’s institutional capacity to humiliate, compromise, and implicate the people who claim it.

— Zain Khalid, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
But the Saudis, humiliated by their losses in Yemen, seem likely to lash out.

— Kareem Fahim, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of humiliate

Verb

Did something happen in her youth that might inform why Cathy, after marrying Adam, goes on to shoot him, leave their newborns, join a brothel, slowly poison the madam, and then take her job?

— Jasmine Vojdani, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2026
Plus, some samples of Martian soil contain high levels of perchlorates, toxic chemical compounds, also found in rocket fuel, that could potentially poison the planet’s supplies of water and food.

— Brian Gallagher, Scientific American, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of poison

Verb

Palestinians have been systematically dehumanized, along with the broader Arab and Muslim world, to serve the foreign policy objectives of governments without questioning the moral and legal implications.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026
The legal system dehumanizes her, the support group confuses her, and one of her friends painfully disappoints her.

— Carey Purcell, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of dehumanize

Verb

But critics have warned the gloves will give ICE another weapon to intimidate and brutalize people even as the agency is under fire for excessive force that has left a trail of deaths and injuries across the nation.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Allegations of abuse, inmates being brutalized by jailers, and dire conditions have plagued the facility for years, leading some county leaders, former sheriffs and civil rights advocates to call for the jail to be closed.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 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 13 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of bestialize

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

abscond

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Why do we call it a 'flea market'?

Popular

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes