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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Recent Examples of commodify
And the logic of marketing dictates that dating apps commodify people into legible archetypes for an easy sale.
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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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Security Experts Speak Out About The Latest PayPal Attacks A number of security professionals have now spoken out about the latest attack methodology being exploited by these PayPal threat actors.Davey Winder, Forbes, 11 Jan. 2025
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Misinformation can emotionally exploit a situation, hijack conversations from emergency information and, in some cases, lead to financial scams, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The raptors’ behavior underscores the complex relationship between fire and wildlife, revealing how some species adapt and even manipulate their surroundings to thrive.Scott Travers, Forbes, 12 Jan. 2025
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China can gather data on Americans or manipulate the content on TikTok to shape U.S. opinion, the government argues.Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Saturday afternoon, officers responded to a call reporting a coyote pup being abused in the 10800 block of South Sacramento Avenue by three males, Chicago police said, Officers discovered a dead pup on private property and the coyote was removed..Deanese Williams-Harris, Chicago Tribune, 15 Jan. 2025
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The Star Tribune reports that the mother of two met a group of 15-year-old hockey players from Colorado in a hotel hot tub and later abused two of them in their room.Sean Neumann, People.com, 14 Jan. 2025
Verb
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While many companies have been able to commercialize versions of open-source software or sell support and services as a way to generate revenue, there’s no consistent model for rewarding individuals or small groups of contributors who often do valuable work.MacKenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 16 Jan. 2025
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In a groundbreaking launch early on Wednesday, SpaceX sent two lunar landers on separate missions, marking a major step in the race to commercialize the Moon.Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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