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
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Recent Examples of commodify
And the logic of marketing dictates that dating apps commodify people into legible archetypes for an easy sale.
—
Josh Greenblatt, WIRED, 17 July 2024
Will the drive to commodify ancient practices defile them?
—Oshan Jarow, Vox, 7 June 2024
But the pursuit of online fame, particularly through Instagram, has supercharged the often toxic phenomenon, The Times found, encouraging parents to commodify their children’s images.
—Michael H. Keller, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024
The play isn’t subtle in presenting its allegory of national racial dysfunction—the white family’s self-absorption in the face of Black suffering, and their swift move to commodify it—but Jacobs-Jenkins’s dramatic machinery is often immensely effective.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for commodify
Josh Greenblatt, WIRED, 17 July 2024
Will the drive to commodify ancient practices defile them?
—Oshan Jarow, Vox, 7 June 2024
But the pursuit of online fame, particularly through Instagram, has supercharged the often toxic phenomenon, The Times found, encouraging parents to commodify their children’s images.
—Michael H. Keller, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024
The play isn’t subtle in presenting its allegory of national racial dysfunction—the white family’s self-absorption in the face of Black suffering, and their swift move to commodify it—but Jacobs-Jenkins’s dramatic machinery is often immensely effective.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 20 Dec. 2023
See All Example Sentences for commodify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commodify
Verb
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If that weren’t enough, bad-faith actors exploit these dynamics, distorting reality for part of the population and deepening political divides.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN,
23 Mar. 2025
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Infectious diseases, by nature, exploit individualism; their version of liberty is to find the unprotected, and spread more freely.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In Lynch’s festering neo-noir mystery from 1987, Hopper plays a chronic villain perpetually sipping from a tank of amyl nitrate and handing out hits as a way to manipulate his henchmen.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
14 Mar. 2025
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They are suspected of illegally manipulating ski suits to enhance athlete performance, according to statements from the FIS.—
Manuela López Restrepo,
NPR,
14 Mar. 2025
Verb
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After killing the nun (Jennifer Ehle) who was her primary abuser within an entire system designed to abuse, Teonna went on the run.—
Christian Blauvelt,
IndieWire,
16 Mar. 2025
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Google has updated its affiliate link policy following allegations that coupon-clipping website Honey was abusing the program.—
Emily Forlini,
PCMAG,
13 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Zealand announced a partnership with Roche to co-develop and commercialize its experimental drug petrelintide, including a potential combination with Roche’s, CT-388.—
Bruce Gil,
Quartz,
13 Mar. 2025
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The deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter, will see Roche and Zealand jointly commercialize petrelintide in the U.S. and Europe, with the two sharing profits and losses on a 50/50 basis.—
Karen Gilchrist,
CNBC,
12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 27 Mar. 2025.
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