humanize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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to make or become human
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to make or become humane
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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humanizationnoun
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humanizernoun
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rehumanizationnoun
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overhumanizeverb
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rehumanizeverb
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nonhumanizedadjective
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semihumanizedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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humanizesimple
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humanizessimple
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have humanizedperfect
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has humanizedperfect
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am humanizingprogressive
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are humanizingprogressive
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is humanizingprogressive
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have been humanizingperfect progressive
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has been humanizingperfect progressive
Past
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humanizedsimple
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had humanizedperfect
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was humanizingprogressive
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were humanizingprogressive
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had been humanizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of humanize
Explanation
To humanize is to make something friendlier to humans. Humanizing makes things more civilized, refined, and understandable. You need to humanize characters when you’re writing a story, so people will understand them. To humanize is to make things more humane and easier for humans to relate to and appreciate. A biography of a murderer could humanize the murderer if it showed he had a terrible life growing up. A factory could be humanized if conditions are made less dangerous. In general, if you’re a human, to humanize something is a good thing. If you’re a robot, get your own word!
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.
The show could help humanize tech titans, even those known for revolutionizing artificial intelligence and defense tech, said Mike Solana, Founders Fund’s Chief Marketing Officer, who hosts and narrates the game.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
Mike Solana, Founders Fund’s Chief Marketing Officer, hosts the series, which aims to humanize tech titans.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
“We feel the need to humanize Iranians because Americans are used to seeing all those lands as numbers or rubble or desert, and that makes us numb to what happens there,” Wilson said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
Moscatelli tries to humanize the capybaras so that real humans become more humane.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
My speech that night gave me a chance to humanize myself, explaining who I was in my own voice, slaying the caricatures and stereotypes with my own words.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
