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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The goalie coaches for NHL teams have a two-fold job, working with their own goalies to close up any weak points in their game, and scouting the other team’s goalies to look for areas their shooters might be able to exploit.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
4 May 2026
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The Thunder are just that good – picking apart opponents to exploit weaknesses while shooting at a highly efficient clip from the field.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Defense attorneys argued at trial that the investigation into the assassination was a mess and that the four were manipulated into taking blame for an internal coup.—
David Fischer,
Sun Sentinel,
8 May 2026
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Still, the video is raising broader concerns about how AI could be used to manipulate voters, particularly as increasingly realistic deepfake technology becomes more widespread.—
Steve Large,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
Verb
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The daughter of one of those killed in the Bondi attacks said that a year earlier she was verbally abused while carrying her baby in a Sydney shopping mall by a man who spotted her Star of David necklace.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 May 2026
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There will be heavy reviews/assurances that those kept in state care are treated well and not abused, as in past histories.—
Kaitlyn Schallhorn,
Oc Register,
4 May 2026
Verb
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Some Letterboxd users, who feared the new owner would commercialize the site, viewed the sale with suspicion.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
27 Apr. 2026
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For automakers and electronics makers racing to commercialize solid-state batteries, the work offers a clearer path to solving a problem that has remained stubbornly difficult.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 11 May. 2026.
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