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
  • The breaches signal that AI’s expanding capabilities are already fueling the security threat experts long feared and even top developers can be caught off-guard by flaws their models can exploit.
    Reuters, NBC news, 31 July 2026
  • Raoul has joined lawsuits against both Meta and TikTok, alleging the companies have addictive designs that exploit children.
    Ben Szalinski, CBS News, 31 July 2026
Verb
  • Whenever Rebecca can outfox him, Rupert manages to manipulate situations, which is how the Water sign aims to take control of matters.
    Lisa Stardust, PEOPLE, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Those releases were queasy, dank, almost fetid, as though Ableton could manipulate flesh as well as frequencies.
    Andrew Ryce, Pitchfork, 4 Aug. 2026
Verb
  • The woman Morris was convicted of abusing, Cindy Clemishire, has filed a $1 million defamation suit against Morris, the church, former and current elders, and a former church employee in Dallas County.
    Giles Hudson, CBS News, 1 Aug. 2026
  • One of them, a shorter, bearded man with a nose reddened and swollen from years of abusing liquor, gave a low whistle.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 31 July 2026
Verb
  • One way is to commercialize invasive species that are edible.
    ABC News, ABC News, 30 July 2026
  • Zoox’s approval caps its yearslong effort to commercialize its robotaxi under regulations developed before self-driving technology emerged.
    Reuters, NBC news, 30 July 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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