anthropomorphize

American  

[an-thruh-puh-mawr-fahyz] / ˌæn θrə pəˈmɔr faɪz /

especially British, anthropomorphise

verb (used with or without object)

anthropomorphized, anthropomorphizing

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

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anthropomorphize British  

/ ˌænθrəpəˈmɔːfaɪz /

verb

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

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Other Word Forms

• anthropomorphization
  noun

Etymology

Origin of anthropomorphize

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

Explanation

When you talk about a thing or animal as if it were human, you're anthropomorphizing it. The Easter Bunny is an anthropomorphized rabbit. People anthropomorphize all the time. If you've ever seen a dog in a sweater, that's a small case of an owner anthropomorphizing his pet. A cartoon dog who talks is a bigger case of anthropomorphizing. Shel Silverstein's book The Giving Tree anthropomorphizes the tree — the tree acts as if it were a person. It may seem kind of bizarre, but treating non-human things as human is a way of imagining another point of view.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

anthropomorphize anthropomorphized anthropomorphizing

Park told MarketWatch that “everyday people naturally anthropomorphize AI and treat it as something alive,” which helps them form attachments and make their AI really personal.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

We’re also more likely to anthropomorphize robots when they act unpredictably.

From Slate ● Sep. 27, 2026

“I try not to anthropomorphize, but I feel her loss,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

"Even the instances that did anthropomorphize AI varied widely in strength."

From Science Daily ● Apr. 19, 2026

Charles was always one to anthropomorphize creatures, seeds, rocks even, and could be overheard talking to them as if they understood.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

Eventually, he finds himself inside a barn with anthropomorphized hay and other frights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026

Instead, Gallrein simply functioned as an anthropomorphized biography.

From Slate ● May 19, 2026

There’s a Kafka-esque moment about an anthropomorphized insect in the center of the album’s plot, and the final track promises ascension, Heaven even, the many mansions of a spiritual home.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2025

Many of the films featured anthropomorphized animals, as opposed to humans, and some ultimately tackled the weight-based stigma in the end.

From Salon ● Mar. 22, 2024

What it demands of the ghost, and of all hypostatized or anthropomorphized ultimate value-forms, is that they shall work, and its life as an institution depends upon making them work.

From Creative Intelligence Essays in the Pragmatic Attitude by Boyd H. Bode

The anthropomorphizing runs wild as they share stories of supposed “AI civilizations” that make unanticipated decisions.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

“Like, ‘Let’s all think for a second about anthropomorphizing trains.’

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

Her crime, she believes, is “the cardinal scientific sin of anthropomorphizing trees by using the metaphor of the mother tree.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

“I don’t like anthropomorphizing AI,” Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella told Bloomberg Television on Monday, referring to the practice of using verbs and nouns to describe AI that are typically reserved for people.

From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024

You may see imaginative children every day anthropomorphizing.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster