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
  • Exposing a weakness The Cowboys have their own major offensive injury that the Giants could exploit.
    Dan Duggan, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The Houthi campaign is clearly designed to exploit new Saudi vulnerabilities.
    April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Posters are editing and manipulating the recordings to distort their content.
    Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • But even if the risks are merely bad—like hacking into a single financial institution or hospital, manipulating the stock market, or taking out an electrical grid—suing a company after the fact won’t really provide the outcome society wants.
    Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The scandal led to Paterno’s firing, and the university paid more than $100 million to people who said they were abused by Sandusky.
    ABC News, ABC News, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Some critics report being verbally abused, doxxed, and even threatened with rape and death by BJP supporters.
    Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • As the world scrambles to commercialize safer solid-state batteries and cheaper sodium-ion alternatives, knowing exactly how ions move is everything.
    Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
  • That’s thanks to educational institutions like the University of Toronto, and public-private research institutes like the Vector Institute, which Hinton co-founded to help commercialize AI breakthroughs.
    Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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