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
But this rejection of empathy has paved the way for dehumanizing rhetoric toward entire groups.
—
Brian Recker, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025
Trump’s current program of dehumanizing treatment toward immigrants and rights violations are simply a dramatic expansion of Biden-era indecency – Alligator Alcatraz is even worse than the already awful conditions that detained immigrants had to endure while Biden was in office.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 15 July 2025
Seeing how she was broken down and dehumanized through torture and isolation, definitely reflected the lengths humans will go to in order to survive.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 10 July 2025
Each of us must master the art of disagreeing without dehumanizing.
—F. Willis Johnson, Twin Cities, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dehumanize
Brian Recker, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 July 2025
Trump’s current program of dehumanizing treatment toward immigrants and rights violations are simply a dramatic expansion of Biden-era indecency – Alligator Alcatraz is even worse than the already awful conditions that detained immigrants had to endure while Biden was in office.
—Rafael Perez, Oc Register, 15 July 2025
Seeing how she was broken down and dehumanized through torture and isolation, definitely reflected the lengths humans will go to in order to survive.
—Lynette Rice, Deadline, 10 July 2025
Each of us must master the art of disagreeing without dehumanizing.
—F. Willis Johnson, Twin Cities, 10 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for dehumanize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dehumanize
Verb
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Luthor’s ultimate defeat is an unmasking that humiliates him by confirming his own worst fears about himself.—
Matt Zoller Seitz,
Vulture,
16 July 2025
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Coach Ruben Amorim publicly humiliated him before a loan move to Aston Villa for the final half of the campaign.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
20 July 2025
Verb
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The gang developed a reputation for torturing, brutalizing and dismembering its victims.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
12 June 2025
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Kraft, who remains incarcerated at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, was convicted of brutalizing and killing 16 men during a decadelong series of slayings in Orange County, California, that ended with his arrest.—
Mirna Alsharif,
NBC news,
10 May 2025
Verb
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But Trump has poisoned those relationships through his intemperate demands and threats.—
Steve Chapman,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Aug. 2025
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The blue tinge of Garrett’s corpse’s finger signals that he was poisoned, though, and this led to the discovery that Garrett’s father had sent him to the Rave’N to poison the outcasts, only the poison vial cracked and leeched into his skin instead.—
Dessi Gomez,
Deadline,
4 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dehumanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dehumanize. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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