humanize
Americanverb (used with object)
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humanizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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humanized,
past participle, past
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humanizing
present participle
verb (used without object)
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humanizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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humanized,
past participle, past
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humanizing
present participle
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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superhumanizeverb (used with object)
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unhumanizeverb (used with object)
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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.
See Examples For:
If America is to reach its 2,500th birthday, it won’t be because it avoided the future but because it learned to humanize it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
And so I said, “Let’s have George go to the worker’s house, the steelworker’s house, and humanize him and see his family and his children and see how he lives.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 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
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
Conservative lawmaker Evair de Melo said Flavio was "gradually introducing himself, including with a great deal of humility, acknowledging some of the mistakes his father may have made. This naturally humanizes his image."
From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026
Sidestepping the deification of his subject, Mr. O’Meara humanizes Prefontaine in his vexing contradictions, buoyant spirit and brutal competitiveness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2025
It humanizes the dog a little bit or makes them feel closer to their community, but it's a beautiful story to tell.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2025
The power of the waltz here is how it humanizes the space station as it’s about to be taken over by an inanimate AI, namely the computer called HAL.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024
And it humanizes them—which is ironic, because they’re already human.”
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
Both of these famous women have long fought to be humanized while also marketing an obscene amount of stuff to us.
From Slate ● Aug. 5, 2026
Scars and suffering have humanized her image and widened her audience and power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
This protective effect was confirmed using an advanced humanized mouse model.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 5, 2026
They are humanized as artists in their own right as opposed to robots in a moneymaking machine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2024
That is the miracle of Greek mythology—a humanized world, men freed from the paralyzing fear of an omnipotent Unknown.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
The interview quickly racked up over 1.1 million views in less than 24 hours and was accompanied by a flood of YouTube comments praising Owens for humanizing addiction and bringing hope to a polarized nation.
From Salon ● May 23, 2026
As Trump heads to Beijing for his summit with Xi, both sides will be looking for that humanizing moment too.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
"Your AI text is humanizing," the site claimed, leading to a page where "100% unique text" was locked behind a paywall charging up to $9.99.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Jared A. Sayeg’s crepuscular lighting and Kate Bergh’s humanizing costumes lend contrast and texture to the world-building scenic design.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026
Tats joins me at a study carrel as I’m reviewing arguments against humanizing Caliban.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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.
