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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He was also sanctioned by the European Union in January 2019 following a nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England, which the British government said was carried out by GRU agents to poison a former Russian spy.—
CNN's Tim Lister,
CNN Money,
8 Feb. 2026
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Children have been among those poisoned this year.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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At one point at the table, Jane ran a fork down the side of Robert's face, leaving red lines, humiliating him.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
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Days after the segment was recorded, Schmitz shot Amedure to death, then confessed to the murder, saying he'd been humiliated on national TV.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The racist imagery is strategically embedded within a larger narrative promoting false election fraud conspiracy theories, designed to dehumanize Black and brown voters as threats to democracy and to justify restricting their participation in elections.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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Sanchez argued the imagery carried historical symbolism used to dehumanize communities and called for outside accountability rather than an internal investigation.—
Spencer Wilson,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been arrested and charged in the murder of his girlfriend, who was found brutalized at a home in Tennessee on Thursday before succumbing to her injuries.—
Jami Ganz,
Mercury News,
8 Feb. 2026
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Former New York Jets linebacker Darron Lee has been arrested and charged in the murder of his girlfriend, who was found brutalized at a home in Tennessee on Thursday before succumbing to her injuries.—
Jami Ganz,
New York Daily News,
7 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Animalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalize. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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