dehumanize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to regard, represent, or treat (a person or group) as less than human.
Society still has a tendency to devalue and dehumanize those with disabilities and to suppress their voices.
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to deprive of human qualities or attributes; divest of individuality.
Conformity dehumanized him.
verb
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to deprive of human qualities
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to render mechanical, artificial, or routine
Other Word Forms
- dehumanization noun
Etymology
Origin of dehumanize
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.
They added that they "oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people" and "pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence".
From BBC
Because when you allow people to be dehumanized, you stop caring about them — and Reiner was not about to let us stop caring.
From Los Angeles Times
What they refrain from hurling in that moment, or at any point throughout “Welcome to Derry,” is a dehumanizing slur splashed all over the pages of the original “It.”
From Salon
It’s a reminder that when someone tries to dehumanize you, laughing in their face can be a declaration of personhood.
From Salon
“The purpose of oppression, hatred and discrimination is to disconnect us and dehumanize us,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times
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.