as in to exploit
disapproving
to treat (something that cannot be owned or that everyone has a right to) like a product that can be bought and sold
Do we really want to commodify our water supply? I feel like our culture is being commodified.
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Recent Examples of commodify
Or will the troves of data being amassed on nonhuman animals be used to further commodify and objectify them?
—
David Gruber, Time, 24 Apr. 2025
Publicis and other advertising firms argue that these new AI tools makes marketing more relevant to customers and less wasteful, but regulators — particularly in Europe — remain wary of systems that commodify vast amounts of personal data.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
If the sole aim of a company is to profit, extraction and exploitation become the norm as businesses seek new resources to commodify
The theory of shareholder wealth maximization has, in recent years, been met with significant scrutiny.
—Aissa Dearing, JSTOR Daily, 9 Jan. 2025
Far from democratizing creativity, these projects frequently centralize authority and commodify the works of individual creators.
—Virginie Berger, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for commodify
David Gruber, Time, 24 Apr. 2025
Publicis and other advertising firms argue that these new AI tools makes marketing more relevant to customers and less wasteful, but regulators — particularly in Europe — remain wary of systems that commodify vast amounts of personal data.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 20 Mar. 2025
If the sole aim of a company is to profit, extraction and exploitation become the norm as businesses seek new resources to commodify
The theory of shareholder wealth maximization has, in recent years, been met with significant scrutiny.
—Aissa Dearing, JSTOR Daily, 9 Jan. 2025
Far from democratizing creativity, these projects frequently centralize authority and commodify the works of individual creators.
—Virginie Berger, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for commodify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for commodify
Verb
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But the threat of extremist nihilistic groups goes beyond individual harm to exploited children, the federal memos obtained by CNN show.—
Curt Devine,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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But experts say that the state program has lacked thorough oversight and accountability, allowing a small group of manufacturers to exploit the program’s robust endowments.—
Tony Briscoe,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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His belief that a conspiratorial coterie of people is manipulating American policy.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2026
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Certain brands of that vintage can be manipulated in ways that later models can’t.—
Manuel Mendoza,
Dallas Morning News,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Videos and photos seized from Epstein's homes in New York, Florida and the Virgin Islands didn't depict victims being abused or implicate anyone else in his crimes, a prosecutor wrote in one 2025 memo.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
9 Feb. 2026
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At least two women who were prostituted and abused by Epstein and his clients had Colorado connections.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Several companies, including ExxonMobil, Standard Lithium and Tetra Technologies, are in a race to commercialize a process to separate lithium from the brine.—
DIDI TANG,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
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If trials are successful, three of them could potentially commercialize in a few years.—
Theresa Gaffney,
STAT,
2 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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