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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dehumanize
Nila’s shame about being Afghan in a world that dehumanizes Muslims is palpable on every page.
—
Laila Lalami, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
Strong voices are good, but voices that hijack the conversation with an agenda and dehumanize other participants are not.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2025
Black people have for centuries called for more factual reporting that reflects their actual lives, because mainstream news has long criminalized and dehumanized their communities.
—Anita Varma, The Conversation, 3 Jan. 2025
Pursuing a full head of honey blonde highlights or rocking a 613 was so heavily stigmatized that Black women who experimented with lighter colors were regularly subjected to dehumanizing comments about their appearance.
—Tayler Adigun, Essence, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dehumanize 
Laila Lalami, The Atlantic, 15 Jan. 2025
Strong voices are good, but voices that hijack the conversation with an agenda and dehumanize other participants are not.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 23 Jan. 2025
Black people have for centuries called for more factual reporting that reflects their actual lives, because mainstream news has long criminalized and dehumanized their communities.
—Anita Varma, The Conversation, 3 Jan. 2025
Pursuing a full head of honey blonde highlights or rocking a 613 was so heavily stigmatized that Black women who experimented with lighter colors were regularly subjected to dehumanizing comments about their appearance.
—Tayler Adigun, Essence, 20 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dehumanize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dehumanize
Verb
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The biggest threat facing the pair is senior MI6 official Jim Richardson (Hugh Bonneville), who has been keeping tabs on the Sudanese, and sees in Martian’s love for Samia an opportunity to both humiliate and strong-arm his former ally into sharing CIA secrets.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Jan. 2025
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Someone may be a masochist but not into being humiliated.—
Fran Tirado,
Them,
10 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Trump has brutalized the media and is a big reason trust has eroded in the fourth estate.—
Nolan Finley,
Twin Cities,
31 Jan. 2025
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Inside the Auschwitz concentration camp complex, the soldiers liberated roughly 7,000 prisoners who had been brutalized by a Nazi regime hell-bent on exterminating the Jewish people.—
Jesse Kirsch,
NBC News,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
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With Tranquil Pines, Matty and Olympia win their case by proving that Lucille poisoned Walter.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
6 Feb. 2025
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have long hated the British media and framed their declining popularity in the U.K. as a product of tabloids poisoning the well of public opinion.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
2 Feb. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near dehumanize
Cite this Entry
“Dehumanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dehumanize. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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