anthropomorphism

American  

[an-thruh-puh-mawr-fiz-uhm] / ˌæn θrə pəˈmɔr fɪz əm /

noun

1. an anthropomorphic conception or representation, as of a deity.

---

anthropomorphism British  

/ ˌænθrəpəˈmɔːfɪzəm /

noun

1. the attribution of human form or behaviour to a deity, animal, etc

---

anthropomorphism Cultural  

1. The attributing of human characteristics and purposes to inanimate objects, animals, plants, or other natural phenomena, or to God. To describe a rushing river as “angry” is to anthropomorphize it.

---

Other Word Forms

• anthropomorphist noun

Etymology

Origin of anthropomorphism

First recorded in 1745–55; anthropo- + -morphism

Example Sentences

In the age when the passing of the Turing test was a distant prospect, the question of computing and the mind was one of anthropomorphism—of transmitting human qualities to an object.

From The Wall Street Journal

But by the 1980s, much chimp behavior was being interpreted in ways that would have been labeled anthropomorphism — ascribing human traits to non-human entities — decades earlier.

From Los Angeles Times

In a 2000 paper, behavioral ecologist Mark Bekoff argued that “anthropomorphism allows other animals’ behavior and emotions to be accessible to us.”

From Salon

I'm not a fan of using the anthropomorphism card.

From Salon

As for making yourself unpopular, you might as well show up to a university lecture wearing Christopher Robin shorts and white bobby socks as be accused of anthropomorphism.

From Salon