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
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
This refers to the societal tendency to commodify every aspect of life, often to the detriment of authenticity and human connection.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
Critics argue these policies effectively commodify citizenship, potentially undermining social cohesion.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for 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
This refers to the societal tendency to commodify every aspect of life, often to the detriment of authenticity and human connection.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
Critics argue these policies effectively commodify citizenship, potentially undermining social cohesion.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for commodify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commodify
Verb
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During the leak, former and current customers' information was exploited, including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and more personal details.—
Shelby Slade,
AZCentral.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Phishing, malware and misinformation relentlessly exploit weak points in online systems.—
Akram Atallah,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can't be manipulated for political purposes.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Aug. 2025
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Important numbers like this must be fair and accurate, they can’t be manipulated for political purposes.—
David Zimmermann,
The Washington Examiner,
3 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Published in April, the Change Associates review found that a small number of employees continue to abuse their power at the corporation.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
7 Aug. 2025
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His father, a livery man, didn’t understand him, and apparently abused him.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Some annealing quantum-type computers are already commercialized.—
Chuck Brooks,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
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The reaction underscored Wall Street’s confidence in Microsoft’s strategy, particularly its aggressive investments in cloud infrastructure and its push to commercialize AI tools such as Copilot across its productivity and developer platforms.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
31 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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