reification

[ree-uh-fuh-key-shuhn, rey-]

noun

1. the act of treating something abstract, such as an idea, relation, system, quality, etc., as if it were a concrete object.

   Defining “home” as if it were just a roof over one’s head, instead of the center of a web of relationships, leads in turn to the reification of homelessness.

2. the act of treating a person as a thing; objectification.

   The conference dealt with the issue of prostitution and the reification and trafficking of women.

Word History and Origins

Origin of reification¹

First recorded in 1845–50; equivalent Latin rē(s) “thing” + -i- ( def. ) + -fication ( def. ), perhaps formed by analogy with deification ( def. )

Example Sentences

This type of rhetoric of reification is always defended by the bromide that this is how "tyrannies of a minority" rather than "tyrannies of a majority" are supposed to work.

From Salon

Everything is rated according to its monetary value and turned into an object of consumption — nothing appears to escape its regressive spiral of commodification, social atomization, and reification.

From Salon

It wasn’t silly, either; hope springs eternal from the human breast, and what’s a market if not the reification of people’s hopes and desires?

From The Verge

The third strategy of division you discuss is reification — in this case, meaning treating people like objects.

From Salon

The reification of science into practical, problem-solving medicines and technologies drives economies and lifts up humanity.

From Nature

Related Words

• apotheosis 
• archetype 
• avatar 
• epitome 
• exemplar 
• expression 
• personification 
• realization 
• symbol