demonization
Americannoun
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the act or fact of regarding, treating, or speaking of a person or thing as entirely bad.
These bitter people carry on a systematic, unremitting demonization of the government, blaming it for whatever ails the economy.
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the act or fact of subjecting a person or thing to the influence of evil spirits; possession or oppression by a demon.
The effects of curses and occult rituals often involve demonization, and need to be revealed by the Holy Spirit.
Etymology
Origin of demonization
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.
In most school curricula, the Holocaust serves as the primary, often exclusive, lens through which the demonization of Jews is understood.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 26, 2026
“You know what I’m talking … What I’m saying is there was no demonization, amplification about that woman before she died. It was a specific crime against her by somebody who knew her.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025
The "demonization" of Haitian's migration to South Florida, especially in the 1970s and 80s, led to the U.S. implementing harsher laws policing migrants fleeing their nation by sea, she explained.
From Salon • Sep. 18, 2024
The demonization efforts have wound up being one giant publicity campaign for a medication that, for so many years, most women didn’t even know was an option.
From Slate • Jun. 18, 2024
Unreflected celebration of technocracy as the sole agent of change must be treated with the same suspicion as its demonization.
From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
