demonize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to misrepresent (someone or something) as thoroughly evil or contemptible; malign.
He’s grown used to demonizing his opponents, replacing their true identities and arguments with easily despised caricatures.
“There’s no reason to demonize plastic,” she said, “but I agree that it’s grossly overused.”
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to subject to the influence of demons.
verb
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to make into or like a demon
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to subject to demonic influence
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to mark out or describe as evil or culpable
the technique of demonizing the enemy in the run-up to war
Usage
What does demonize mean? To demonize something or someone is to mark or describe it as evil, as one would a demon. When something or someone is figuratively demonized like this, it is treated as undesirable or disrespectful. Being is demonized in this way often means being avoided or ignored by certain groups. Literally, to demonize is to turn something into a demon or to make it demonlike, as in The wizard spoke the spell that would transform a frog into a demon, demonizing it to create a powerful weapon. To demonize is also to subject demonic, or evil, influence, as in A mage demonized me, and now a demon torments my every waking hour. Some cultures and religions believe demons exist, while others believe they are only fictional characters. Example: The senator was so demonized for his beliefs that he could not win reelection.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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demonizesimple
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demonizessimple
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have demonizedperfect
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has demonizedperfect
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am demonizingprogressive
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are demonizingprogressive
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is demonizingprogressive
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have been demonizingperfect progressive
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has been demonizingperfect progressive
Past
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demonizedsimple
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had demonizedperfect
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was demonizingprogressive
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were demonizingprogressive
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had been demonizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of demonize
First recorded in 1815–25; from Medieval Latin daemonizāre, equivalent to Late Latin daemon demon + -izāre -ize
Explanation
To demonize someone is to characterize them as evil or wicked, whether or not they actually are. It's distressingly common in politics for one party to demonize members of the opposing party. This verb literally means "to make into a demon.” Demon means "evil spirit," so when you demonize someone, you portray them that way. This tactic shows up in propaganda and politics all the time. If you’re running for class president, don’t demonize your opponent just to get votes — instead, engage in cordial debate about the issues.
Vocabulary lists containing demonize
“How Bernard Madoff Did It” by Liaquat Ahamed
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Vocabulary from Readings 5, Unit 1
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Lesson 6
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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.
See Examples For:
“That allows me not to demonize the person.”
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2026
He also knows how to be comfortable in that space, and still find ways to humanize himself to an audience trying desperately to demonize him.
From Slate ● Feb. 28, 2026
When Paramount Skydance paid $150 million to acquire Weiss’ operation, CEO David Ellison said he wanted journalism that “reflects reality” and “doesn’t seek to demonize, but seeks to understand.”
From Salon ● Dec. 22, 2025
Weiss, who started at the news organization earlier this month, has said she wants to focus on “news that reflects reality” and journalism that “doesn’t seek to demonize, but seeks to understand.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
The tendency to sentimentalize nature has, in our time, largely taken the place of the old tendency to demonize and spiritize it.
From Ways of Nature by Burroughs, John
The report recommends that students acknowledge their differences more openly — and urges school administrators to help them overcome black-and-white thinking that demonizes other viewpoints.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
Art habitually heightens, elides, romanticizes, demonizes, cheats and lies to get what it wants, but we tend to believe it when the art, as here, is good.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2021
Altman: We are very sensitive to the word "gang" because of the way it demonizes people.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2021
In it, Agrawal demonizes the figure of the she-wolf, illustrating a female reporter as a lupine menace sent to consume the visionary female businesswoman.
From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2019
Either way, the invariable truth is that trash talk humanizes an artist in the eyes of their flock just as it demonizes them in the eyes of their detractors.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 11, 2015
“A mythologized Disraeli,” Ms. Jones writes, “provided political, literary and intellectual means by which Toryism could be positioned against an increasingly demonized ‘Victorian Liberalism.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
There are some disturbing exceptions to this general profile, to be sure, but for the most part, these editors do not fit the demonized caricature presented by the website’s loudest critics.
From Slate ● Oct. 22, 2025
Then a few years later everyone is over the panic, the technology is normal and the next thing becomes demonized.
From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2025
But Iman warns his family that, since judges are demonized in Iranian society, they need to be careful not to spread this news around.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 27, 2024
The North Korean government turned him into an actor who always played an evil Caucasian face in propaganda movies that demonized the United States.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
“She has shown courage and a commitment to protecting vulnerable communities, rather than demonizing them,” said Angelica Salas, president of the Californians for Human Immigrant Rights Leadership Action Fund.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
You can empathize with your friend without demonizing your own position or patronizing her by saying everything will be OK.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026
“Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens,” the NRA retorted, to Essayli.
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2026
“Responsible public voices should be awaiting a full investigation, not making generalizations and demonizing law-abiding citizens,” the association said in a statement on X.
From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2026
“Why are we demonizing this man for speaking his mind?”
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
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.
