dehumanize

[dee-hyoo-muh-nahyz or, often, -yoo-]

verb (used with object), de·hu·man·ized, de·hu·man·iz·ing.

to deprive of human qualities or attributes; divest of individuality: Conformity dehumanized him.

Also especially British, de·hu·man·ise.

Origin of dehumanize

First recorded in 1810–20; de- + humanize

Related formsde·hu·man·i·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dehumanization

Contemporary Examples of dehumanization

Reactions to both events are driven by ignorance, disregard, and dehumanization of an underclass of people of color.
Ferguson, Immigration, and ‘Us Vs. Them’
Gene Robinson
November 27, 2014
If you look at every place where there was a mass dispossession, there was first a massive campaign of dehumanization.
Film Review: Documentary Explores Israeli Attitudes to the Palestinian Nakba
Lisa Goldman
November 27, 2013
It meant challenging the deceit and dehumanization on both sides.
Biden's AIPAC Pandering
Peter Beinart
March 5, 2013
I feel that dehumanization is the only way one can successfully abuse another.
My Strange Passage From Suspected School Shooter to Prom Queen
Gina Tron
January 28, 2013
None of that is as important as the fact that the disdain for the dehumanization of extreme hip hop continues unabated.
The Hip Hop Inauguration
Stanley Crouch
December 19, 2008

British Dictionary definitions for dehumanization

dehumanize

dehumanise

verb (tr)

to deprive of human qualities
to render mechanical, artificial, or routine

Derived Formsdehumanization or dehumanisation, noun

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

Word Origin and History for dehumanization

dehumanize

1818, from de- + humanize. Related: Dehumanized; dehumanizing.