anthropomorphize

[an-thruh-puh-mawr-fahyz]

verb (used with or without object), an·thro·po·mor·phized, an·thro·po·mor·phiz·ing.

to ascribe human form or attributes to (an animal, plant, material object, etc.).

Also especially British, an·thro·po·mor·phise.

Origin of anthropomorphize

First recorded in 1835–45; anthropomorph(ic) + -ize

Related formsan·thro·po·mor·phi·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for anthropomorphise

Historical Examples of anthropomorphise

We may be inclined to infer that the hero can stand alone, whilst a Totem needs the alliance of a hero to anthropomorphise it.
The Origin of Man and of his Superstitions
Carveth Read
So we spiritualise the material universe, and afterwards, by an incongruous consistency, anthropomorphise spirit.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 378, April, 1847
Various
If man is a microcosm then kosmos is a megalanthrope and that is how we come to anthropomorphise the deity.
The Note-Books of Samuel Butler
Samuel Butler

British Dictionary definitions for anthropomorphise

anthropomorphize

anthropomorphise

verb

to attribute or ascribe human form or behaviour to (a god, animal, object, etc)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for anthropomorphise

anthropomorphize

1834; see anthropomorphic + -ize. Related: Anthropomorphized; anthopomorphizing.