verb
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to make or become human
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to make or become humane
Other Word Forms
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 goal: Humanize people by creating moments that may have happened serendipitously in the office.
From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2022
To Humanize the World The ministry will become ever more flexible.
From Time Magazine Archive
Humanize your facts to the extent of making them interesting, if you have the art to do it, but leave the dog a dog, and the straddle-bug a straddle-bug.
From Ways of Nature by Burroughs, John
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.
