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

But fracking has been demonized by many, especially on the political left, banned in a number of countries in Europe and elsewhere basically by modern day Luddites. —Michael Lynch, Forbes, 19 Sep. 2024

Vance’s interviewers Sunday noted that Springfield city officials had asked national figures including him and Trump to stop demonizing the migrants, who are mostly in the country legally under a temporary authorization program for people whose homelands are in crisis. —arkansasonline.com, 16 Sep. 2024

Dissent says majority ‘demonizes’ AR-15 owners Circuit Judge Julius Richardson, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, was joined by four others on the bench in a lengthy 100-page dissent that underpinned their belief that the majority’s decision ran afoul of Bruen. —Kaelan Deese, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 6 Aug. 2024

Proposition 187, a Golden State ballot measure, demonized immigrants long before MAGA picked up the banner. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 1 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1817, in the meaning defined above