bestialize

American

[bes-chuh-lahyz, bees-] / ˈbɛs tʃəˌlaɪz, ˈbis- /

especially British, bestialise

verb (used with object)

bestialized, bestializing

to make bestial or beastlike.

War bestializes its participants.

bestialize British

/ ˈbɛstɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

(tr) to make bestial or brutal

"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

Etymology

Origin of bestialize

First recorded in 1675–85; bestial + -ize

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

By contrast, M.M.A. is staged so as to bestialize its fighters; they roll on the floor of a cage.

From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2015

What men are these, who, clamoring to be free, Would bestialize the world to what they be?

From The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1 by Lazarus, Emma

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023