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
-
These habits are easy to predict, something that Ukraine has exploited with ease.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
25 May 2026
-
Flaws are exposed, magnified and exploited.—
Andy Behrens,
New York Times,
25 May 2026
Verb
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Her husband manipulates her, her best friend hates her, her sister derides her; her entire existence is thin and precarious.—
Naomi Fry,
New Yorker,
23 May 2026
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Plenty of skilled directors can manipulate tension and fear while still poking us toward nervous laughter.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
22 May 2026
Verb
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Similarly, modifying diet or exercise to lose fat or gain muscle can be quite healthy, but abusing amphetamines to suppress appetite – a widespread practice in looksmaxxing – is dangerous and points to a mental health issue.—
Jordyn Tovey,
The Conversation,
22 May 2026
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Organizers are now working with local police and monitoring cameras to make sure the system is not being abused.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
Verb
-
The company is working in a competitive landscape alongside robotics firms such as Tesla, Agility Robotics, and Apptronik, all aiming to commercialize humanoid robots for warehouse, factory, and logistics applications.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
25 May 2026
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Cibus, founded in 2001 to commercialize this platform, was an early mover in what would become the precision crop biotechnology revolution.—
Noelle Harff,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 27 May. 2026.
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