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 for some, the consequences of AI signal a systemic, dehumanizing transformation, where generative systems mimic not just content, but the entire ecosystem: creator, reviewer, performer, promoter, consumer.
—
Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
According to Taylor, Trump's rhetoric about homeless people experiencing addiction dehumanizes Americans struggling with serious illness.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 13 Aug. 2025
Of course, Hamas is wrong to dehumanize Palestinians by turning them into human shields, but this is no excuse for Israel to dehumanize Gazans, treating their plight merely as collateral damage.
—Michael S. Roth, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
She was highly dehumanized at the beginning of that story.
—Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dehumanize
Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025
According to Taylor, Trump's rhetoric about homeless people experiencing addiction dehumanizes Americans struggling with serious illness.
—Brian Mann, NPR, 13 Aug. 2025
Of course, Hamas is wrong to dehumanize Palestinians by turning them into human shields, but this is no excuse for Israel to dehumanize Gazans, treating their plight merely as collateral damage.
—Michael S. Roth, Time, 6 Aug. 2025
She was highly dehumanized at the beginning of that story.
—Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dehumanize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dehumanize
Verb
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Continually moving the goalposts or using testing to humiliate or control can cause relational harm.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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And Sacks, a PayPal Mafia member and veteran Silicon Valley investor, is just the sort of titan of industry this town routinely devours and humiliates — from Rex Tillerson to, well, Elon Musk.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Moxley, Claudio Castagnoli and Gabe Kidd brutalized Ospreay, targeting the neck which he was set to have surgery on.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
25 Aug. 2025
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With very few exceptions, low-rent buildings are run down, services are almost impossible to obtain, and except for the fact that New Yorkers have been so brutalized by their living conditions, such housing would be uninhabitable.—
Nicholas Pileggi,
Curbed,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Thousands of multivitamin bottles sold on Amazon and other websites have been recalled over a risk of serious injury or death by poisoning.—
Joel Thayer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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During World War II, Husseini became a Nazi collaborator, broadcasting propaganda into the Arab world, touring death camps with his friend Heinrich Himmler, recruiting SS divisions, and hatching a plot to poison Tel Aviv’s water supply.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dehumanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dehumanize. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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