as in to poison
to make (someone) feel or behave more like an animal than a human being
six months of solitary living in the jungle would animalize anyone
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Recent Examples of animalize
Sociologist Anthony Cortese found that in popular culture black women are often othered, animalized and exoticized, associating women of color with primitivity or wild sexuality.
—
Katie Edwards, Washington Post, 14 July 2017
Katie Edwards, Washington Post, 14 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for animalize
Verb
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Who cares about the fact that her friend cheated when her child was poisoned by her husband and her father?—
Arushi Jacob,
Variety,
22 Apr. 2026
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Kuroda admitted to using chloroform, paraformaldehyde (PFA), and Trizol to poison his co-worker's water bottle and shoes, according to a Dane County Court criminal complaint.—
Robert McGreevy,
FOXNews.com,
21 Apr. 2026
Verb
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One such accusation resulted in a federal lawsuit filed in September in which the former head of the Colorado Division for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind alleged DHS management humiliated and discriminated against him before forcing him out of his job.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
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According to the suit, she was humiliated by fellow staff members and belittled due to her race, country of origin, religion and immigration status.—
Emily St. Martin,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Nor is the bishop of Rome trying to humiliate or dehumanize his opponent.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
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Social media posts and comments showed an increasing use of dehumanizing language toward Muslims.—
Anisah Bagasra,
The Conversation,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Nikitin was drugged and brutalized by his captors in the Soviet psychiatric prisons.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
15 Apr. 2026
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However, human rights groups say migrants are being brutalized and pushed back illegally at EU borders, while legal protections are increasingly being hollowed out.—
Sam McNeil,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Animalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalize. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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