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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dehumanize
Terminating relationships is accountability, and that can feel uncomfortable for people who do indefensible things like voting for someone who may dehumanize their peers.
—
Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 3 Dec. 2024
From the outset of this war, public statements by high-level Israeli officials have dehumanized Palestinians and called for genocidal acts, contributing to an overall pattern of conduct that reveals Israel's true intentions.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024
And heretics, even if they’re not burned at the stake, are dehumanized, ostracized and denied any empathy and understanding.
—Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Experts told PolitiFact such narratives painting Haiti as a barbarous country are not new and are racist attempts to dehumanize Haitians.
—Jeff Cercone, Austin American-Statesman, 14 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dehumanize 
Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 3 Dec. 2024
From the outset of this war, public statements by high-level Israeli officials have dehumanized Palestinians and called for genocidal acts, contributing to an overall pattern of conduct that reveals Israel's true intentions.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 12 Dec. 2024
And heretics, even if they’re not burned at the stake, are dehumanized, ostracized and denied any empathy and understanding.
—Arianna Huffington, TIME, 11 Dec. 2024
Experts told PolitiFact such narratives painting Haiti as a barbarous country are not new and are racist attempts to dehumanize Haitians.
—Jeff Cercone, Austin American-Statesman, 14 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dehumanize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dehumanize
Verb
-
Illinois has the seventh-highest scoring offense in Division I, but was humiliated to 29 percent shooting, and the otherwise-excellent Kasparas Jakučionis had more turnovers (seven) than made baskets (five, on 15 tries).Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
-
Over several years, victims were beaten, threatened and humiliated, while perpetrators befriended parents to screen them from the systemic abuse.Dan Perry, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
Verb
-
And no wonder: Police, security operatives, and soldiers in Venezuela also have relatives who have been brutalized by the regime.Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2024
-
Black women were among the organizers of the Alabama march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery that preceded the federal legislation — and were among the marchers brutalized on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.Kenya Hunter, Los Angeles Times, 26 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
In 2015, the Tribune reported on a broader phenomenon of lead poisoning plaguing children living in some of the poorest Chicago neighborhoods.Lizzie Kane, Chicago Tribune, 16 Jan. 2025
-
These operations are often controlled by cartels and poison the surrounding natural environment with toxic chemicals.Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near dehumanize
Cite this Entry
“Dehumanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dehumanize. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share