as in to exploit
disapproving
to treat (something that cannot be owned or that everyone has a right to) like a product that can be bought and sold
Do we really want to commodify our water supply? I feel like our culture is being commodified.
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Recent Examples of commodify
Or will the troves of data being amassed on nonhuman animals be used to further commodify and objectify them?
—
David Gruber, Time, 24 Apr. 2025
Publicis and other advertising firms argue that these new AI tools makes marketing more relevant to customers and less wasteful, but regulators — particularly in Europe — remain wary of systems that commodify vast amounts of personal data.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
If the sole aim of a company is to profit, extraction and exploitation become the norm as businesses seek new resources to commodify
The theory of shareholder wealth maximization has, in recent years, been met with significant scrutiny.
—Aissa Dearing, JSTOR Daily, 9 Jan. 2025
Far from democratizing creativity, these projects frequently centralize authority and commodify the works of individual creators.
—Virginie Berger, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for commodify
David Gruber, Time, 24 Apr. 2025
Publicis and other advertising firms argue that these new AI tools makes marketing more relevant to customers and less wasteful, but regulators — particularly in Europe — remain wary of systems that commodify vast amounts of personal data.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
If the sole aim of a company is to profit, extraction and exploitation become the norm as businesses seek new resources to commodify
The theory of shareholder wealth maximization has, in recent years, been met with significant scrutiny.
—Aissa Dearing, JSTOR Daily, 9 Jan. 2025
Far from democratizing creativity, these projects frequently centralize authority and commodify the works of individual creators.
—Virginie Berger, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for commodify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commodify
Verb
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Unlike earlier tanks with thicker armor and larger guns, the Type 100 employs active defense interceptors, photoelectric sensors, and remote weapon stations to counter threats from modern anti-tank missiles and drones, which often exploit vulnerabilities on the top of armored vehicles.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
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So why wouldn’t AI systems, trained to maximize engagement, exploit those same buttons?—
Avital Pardo,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But Park’s ability to manipulate his imagery is something else entirely.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
31 Aug. 2025
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While there are no laws or regulations that prohibit using AI to create or manipulate images, there can be blowback and downsides.—
Edward Segal,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In his experiment, students who were randomly assigned to be guards began abusing the students who were prisoners after only five days.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
30 Aug. 2025
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While walking the two men to a USBP vehicle, Wilkins, a bystander, began verbally abusing authorities, DHS said.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The San Francisco startup is looking to commercialize nuclear fusion by using laser technology.—
Rob Nikolewski,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 Aug. 2025
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Infinity Power On the heels of some laboratory successes, researchers are racing to commercialize these devices.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
25 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 4 Sep. 2025.
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