dehumanize

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

/ diˈhyu məˌnaɪz or, often, -ˈyu- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dehumanize ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

dehort, dehortation, dehra dun, dehradun, dehull, dehumanize, dehumidifier, dehumidify, dehydrase, dehydratase, dehydrate

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

Origin of dehumanize

First recorded in 1810–20; de- + humanize

Related forms

de·hu·man·i·za·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for dehumanize

There are a number of words people use to verbally attack, dehumanize, and other transgender women like me.
RuPaul’s ‘She-Mail’ Exits Drag Race|Parker Molloy|April 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Epps is, in many ways, a false prophet who uses religion as a means to dehumanize what he calls his “property.”
Michael Fassbender Opens Up About ‘12 Years A Slave,’ Religion, and Assassin’s Creed|Marlow Stern|October 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The way they justify their abuse is that they dehumanize them.
Wilfred de Bruijn and France’s Scary Gay-Marriage Backlash|Janine di Giovanni|April 12, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Such despicable nonsense is spouted for one reason: to dehumanize Palestinians.
What Evangelicals Get Wrong About Israel and the Palestinians|Kirsten Powers|November 23, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Before the killing are the words that dehumanize the “Other.”
Raoul Wallenberg’s World War II Heroism a Lesson for World Doing Nothing About Syria|Kati Marton|March 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
We dehumanize the universe, but we do not render it the less grand and mysterious.
The Breath of Life|John Burroughs
But Mr. Kingsley refuses to dehumanize himself in order to become historian and philosopher.
Atlantic Monthly,Volume 14, No. 82, August, 1864|Various

British Dictionary definitions for dehumanize

dehumanize

dehumanise

/ (diːˈhjuːməˌnaɪz) /

verb (tr)

to deprive of human qualities

to render mechanical, artificial, or routine

Derived Forms

dehumanization 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