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.).

Origin of anthropomorphize

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

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

Other words from anthropomorphize

an·thro·po·mor·phi·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anthropomorphize in a sentence

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 anthropomorphize

anthropomorphize

anthropomorphise

/ (ˌænθrəpəˈmɔːfaɪz) /

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

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