commodify

Definition of commodifynext
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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Example Sentences

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.
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. 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
  • Marco Tardelli, Italy vs West Germany, 1982 Italy exploit the space left behind as the Germans chase the game.
    Adam Hurrey, New York Times, 17 July 2026
  • That inconsistency may ultimately deliver advantages not to Europe, but to America, China, and every major power capable of exploiting its hesitation.
    Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • Federal prosecutors said the recruitment system helped Epstein abuse hundreds of victims over decades, while some recruiters later said they had themselves been manipulated, exploited or coerced by Epstein into participating.
    Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • Known as nitrogen-vacancy centers, these atomic-scale structures allow the system to manipulate electron and nuclear spins without needing liquid helium or high-vacuum environments.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 21 July 2026
Verb
  • Some evidence of harms from testosterone stem from people who abuse the hormone, taking levels well above what would be used to bring a patient with hypogonadism into a normal range.
    Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026
  • The textbook catalogs the ways prosecutors can abuse their powers.
    Joaquin Sapien, ProPublica, 17 July 2026
Verb
  • The companies will now work together to create and commercialize FLiBe, a molten salt made from lithium fluoride (LiF) and beryllium fluoride (BeF2).
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 16 July 2026
  • Nokia’s predicament had precedent—Kodak, dominant in film photography, had actually invented the digital camera in 1975 but failed to commercialize it before digital imaging made its core business obsolete.
    IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 13 July 2026

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“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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