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
While the biopic doesn’t delve into the local communal tensions touched on by the documentary (a reason the real Nasir cites for his creative endeavors), that the movie’s characters are mostly Muslim, at a time when rampant cinematic propaganda dehumanizes Indian Muslims, is affirming enough.
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Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Sep. 2024
According to a study from Stanford University, dehumanizing language against immigrants — including calling or comparing immigrants to animals — has increased over the past several years.
—Gwen Aviles, refinery29.com, 13 Sep. 2024
Black women do not need to seek validation from the institutions that dehumanize them.
—Taylor Crumpton, TIME, 10 Sep. 2024
Her chronicle of those fictions couldn’t feel truer, though: ceaseless spreadsheets, dehumanizing dronework, an endless sea of middle managers failing upward.
—Longreads, 30 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dehumanize 
Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Sep. 2024
According to a study from Stanford University, dehumanizing language against immigrants — including calling or comparing immigrants to animals — has increased over the past several years.
—Gwen Aviles, refinery29.com, 13 Sep. 2024
Black women do not need to seek validation from the institutions that dehumanize them.
—Taylor Crumpton, TIME, 10 Sep. 2024
Her chronicle of those fictions couldn’t feel truer, though: ceaseless spreadsheets, dehumanizing dronework, an endless sea of middle managers failing upward.
—Longreads, 30 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dehumanize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dehumanize
Verb
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Then, last year, the 49ers humiliated Dallas by the score of 42-10 at home.Vincent Frank, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
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Shaking down Bodhi, killing some bikers, jokingly humiliating his ex-girlfriend on the witness stand — less than ideal, but nothing you’re not supposed to be able to live with.Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Scared for the victims and their families who were stalked and brutalized in the most vicious way.Olivia B. Waxman, TIME, 23 Oct. 2024
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Amiri Baraka was arrested the night after Smith, for illegally possessing weapons, and he was brutalized, too.Kelefa Sanneh, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2024
Verb
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The salty water slowly poisons living trees, leaving a haunted ghost forest of dead and dying timber.Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2024
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And subsequent research has suggested most of those who were poisoned had been drinking this bootleg alcohol for pleasure or escape, not protection from COVID-19.ByKai Kupferschmidt, science.org, 31 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near dehumanize
Cite this Entry
“Dehumanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dehumanize. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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