as in to humiliate
to make (someone) feel or behave more like an animal than a human being
being deprived of clothes dehumanized the prisoners
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Recent Examples of dehumanize
Instead of addressing the state’s public health emergency, Georgia’s leaders have doubled down on cruel, dehumanizing policies that criminalize pregnancy and control women’s bodies.
—
Jameelah Nasheed, Essence, 21 May 2025
This effort to dehumanize Lai reflects Beijing’s deep anxiety about the trajectory of cross-strait relations, particularly what China views as Lai’s desire to push Taiwan toward independence.
—Bonny Lin, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2025
The term was created, and is used to dehumanize and demean Native women in the United States and Canada, according to previous Bee reporting.
—Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2025
The red cloaks of the Handmaids — plus the bonnets and masks — are particularly dehumanizing, anonymizing, physically restrictive, and symbolically pregnant.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dehumanize
Jameelah Nasheed, Essence, 21 May 2025
This effort to dehumanize Lai reflects Beijing’s deep anxiety about the trajectory of cross-strait relations, particularly what China views as Lai’s desire to push Taiwan toward independence.
—Bonny Lin, Foreign Affairs, 15 May 2025
The term was created, and is used to dehumanize and demean Native women in the United States and Canada, according to previous Bee reporting.
—Emma Hall, Sacbee.com, 14 May 2025
The red cloaks of the Handmaids — plus the bonnets and masks — are particularly dehumanizing, anonymizing, physically restrictive, and symbolically pregnant.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 13 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for dehumanize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dehumanize
Verb
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Simone Inzaghi really needs the win here — his Italian side finished one point behind Serie A champ Napoli and was humiliated by rival AC Milan in the Coppa Italia semifinal.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
31 May 2025
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And after Trump’s attempts to humiliate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, the lure of the White House is waning.—
Stephen Collinson,
CNN Money,
31 May 2025
Verb
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Guards, many of them teenage cadets from police academies, are reportedly ordered to humiliate and brutalize detainees, some barely older than themselves.—
Antonio Maria Delgado,
Miami Herald,
20 May 2025
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Then there’s Danaher, the worst of all, which has been brutalized by a lack of Chinese biotech offerings.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The toxins accumulate in filter-feeding fish, and then poison larger mammals who gobble up the fish in mass quantities.—
Corinne Purtill,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
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The Louisville Courier Journal documented the connection in their investigation into cartel drugs poisoning Oregon.—
Sean Campbell,
The Conversation,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dehumanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dehumanize. Accessed 15 Jun. 2025.
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