demonize

verb

de·​mon·​ize ˈdē-mə-ˌnīz 

demonized; demonizing; demonizes

transitive verb

: to portray (someone or something) as evil or as worthy of contempt or blame : vilify

But the Senate hearings have a broader purpose than exposing I.R.S. sins. They are a central element in a campaign by Congressional Republicans to demonize the tax agency, already the least loved of all Government bureaucracies.

—John M. Broder

The point is not to demonize business leaders. Their reasons for not hiring make eminent sense, given the incentives of the marketplace and the imperative to remain competitive.

—Zachary Karabell

Violence in the media has become the whipping boy of choice in these hypocritical times. It's easier to demonize a movie screen than to deal with the thorny issues of crime, racism, drugs, poverty and gun control.

—Peter Travers

For those who would forge a new environmental ethic, there is a constant temptation to demonize technology and deify nature.

—Gina Maranto

demonization

ˌdē-mə-nə-ˈzā-shən 

noun

plural demonizations

In the Washington of Clinton and Gingrich, Dole and Buchanan, … the demonization of one's political foes has reached an epic frenzy.

—Stryker McGuire and David Ansen

Examples of demonize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Just about every other domain — from social media to family life — can feel ripe for demonizing attacks and caustic rhetoric. —Tarun Galagali, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

But antipathy toward Trump, his agenda and his habit of demonizing immigrants and rejecting political norms, runs as high as his support, if not higher. —Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 3 Nov. 2024

The Harris campaign has sought to tread a line between tightening border security, while also avoiding demonizing migrants writ large. —Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024

Owens has also joined in American conservatives’ recent obsession with demonizing trans and gender nonconforming people at every possible opportunity. —Abby Monteil, Them, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above