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.
Related Words
Relevance
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
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
-
Based on a true story, an aristocrat close to the Viceroy of New Spain begins a series of murders in 1637 Mexico City, exploiting his status to avoid justice.—
Anna Marie de la Fuente,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025
-
These days, Howard has become a huge defensive liability, and the Rams made sure to exploit him.—
James Boyd,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
But in addition to his reputation as a womanizer, Casanova was also a con man, a skilled liar who came from a family of actors and who over the course of his life manipulated and tricked countless people to maintain wealth and status.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Pushed to extremes While footage and photographs of starving Palestinians in Gaza have horrified audiences abroad, inside Israel they have been dismissed by many as manipulated or untrue.—
Zeena Saifi,
CNN Money,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The biggest controversy surrounding Flock Safety centers around allegations that law enforcement agencies have abused the company's technology to target women, immigrants and people engaged in activity.—
Wren Smetana,
AZCentral.com,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Ed Gein later told investigators he and his brother were abused by his father, who died in 1940 of heart failure.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The combination of advanced safety features, lightweight materials, and electric propulsion makes XPeng 2 a major player in the global race to commercialize flying cars.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Lu says his team may commercialize the robot for inspection scenarios, such as construction sites, and plans on using real-world data to further enhance the robot’s ability to cope with any type of terrain.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share