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
Example 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
Trump has repeatedly hurled names and insults onto the political stage, casting rivals as enemies and taking heat for dehumanizing language against immigrants.
—
Julia Mueller, The Hill, 18 June 2025
At a time of dehumanizing language and rampant violence against immigrants, Real Women steps up to its moment.
—Marjorie García, Billboard, 26 June 2025
The anti-immigrant agenda and the attack on federal workers are both designed to dehumanize, divide, and distract.
—Alissa Tafti, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
And this is what the administration is trying to do to dehumanize me, to dehumanize the immigrants, to dehumanize anyone who actually does not agree with what the administration is doing.
—Armando Garcia, ABC News, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dehumanize
Julia Mueller, The Hill, 18 June 2025
At a time of dehumanizing language and rampant violence against immigrants, Real Women steps up to its moment.
—Marjorie García, Billboard, 26 June 2025
The anti-immigrant agenda and the attack on federal workers are both designed to dehumanize, divide, and distract.
—Alissa Tafti, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 June 2025
And this is what the administration is trying to do to dehumanize me, to dehumanize the immigrants, to dehumanize anyone who actually does not agree with what the administration is doing.
—Armando Garcia, ABC News, 21 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dehumanize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dehumanize
Verb
-
Over 24 cycles, the show humiliated hundreds of young, naïve women (and, briefly, men) in the name of entertainment.—
Emily Palmer Heller,
Vulture,
9 July 2025
-
Soldatov said that along this path was the 2008 war in Georgia, which showed the Russian army would not be humiliated anymore.—
Brendan Cole,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 July 2025
Verb
-
Victims who spoke out really were emotionally brutalized.—
Pat Beall,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 July 2025
-
Prosecutors say that behind the veil of his larger-than-life public persona, Combs was for years brutalizing vulnerable women with assistance from members of a criminal enterprise, who helped to keep his victims compliant and provoke fear in anyone perceived to threaten his power and control.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
16 June 2025
Verb
-
The health secretary said vegetable oils, like canola and soybean, are poisoning Americans and driving the obesity epidemic.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
8 July 2025
-
Throughout a trial lasting more than two months, Patterson maintained the beef-and-pastry dish was accidentally poisoned with death cap mushrooms, the world’s most-lethal fungus.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
7 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dehumanize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dehumanize. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share