dehumanized

verb

past tense of dehumanize
as in humiliated
to make (someone) feel or behave more like an animal than a human being being deprived of clothes dehumanized the prisoners

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dehumanized The petition argues Mays’ language during the trial revealed something deeper than a poor defense strategy — a worldview that dehumanized the man he was supposed to defend. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026 The costume and the posture of the model in the photo drew comparisons online to images of the racist theatrical character Jim Crow, a staple in blackface minstrel shows, which dehumanized Black people. — Star Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026 Telling this story from a child’s perspective is a way of trying to revive empathy for people who are often dehumanized by the way they are portrayed. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 3 Aug. 2026 Everyone feels like they’re dehumanized by the process in a way that leads them to suspect there’s something monstrous about the whole endeavor. — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 31 July 2026 The Coalition for the Homeless says the city's unhoused are often dehumanized and criminalized. — Jennifer Bisram, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2026 In a world that often feels fragmented and dehumanized, reclaiming this universality is an ethical act. — Ed Meza, Variety, 16 Mar. 2026 Our past, our lives, dehumanized into numbers. — Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026 The guy’s ghosting of me also dehumanized him. — Anna Holmes, The Atlantic, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dehumanized
  1. humiliated
  2. brutalized
  3. poisoned
Verb
  • My husband was humiliated, he was degraded, and not able to defend himself.
    — Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Their time in Fiji was marked by endless drama, with Sincere often lying and leaving Melanie feeling humiliated on several occasions.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of humiliated
Verb
  • How many people will stay home rather than risk being racially profiled and brutalized?
    — Kica Matos, Time, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Described as a biting political thriller in the tradition of Wild in the Streets and V for Vendetta, The Hunted is set in a dystopian America where trans people are brutalized and erased to the margins of society.
    — Glenn Garner, Deadline, 20 June 2026
Definition of brutalized
Verb
  • Over the course of Exile, one of Loktev’s subjects is poisoned; another receives a five-year prison sentence in absentia.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Veterinarians determined that the snake's venom poisoned Samba, prompting them to give her antivenin.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of poisoned

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dehumanized
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Cite this Entry

“Dehumanized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dehumanized. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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