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.
Related Words
Relevance
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 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
-
The Criminal Division will not allow foreign actors to exploit the American financial system and use it as a safe haven for the proceeds of their corruption.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
19 May 2026
-
Brunson’s defense and the lack of rim protection from Towns remain weaknesses, but nobody has come close to exploiting them so far.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
In most cases, similar to engine controls, this climate control system can be checked for codes and the various modes manipulated with a scan tool.—
John Paul Senior Manager Public Affairs And Traffic Safety Aaa Northeast,
Hartford Courant,
16 May 2026
-
This likely created new evolutionary pressure for specialized hand use during tasks such as carrying objects, manipulating tools, or gesturing.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
My greatest wish is that this ruling sets a precedent for the Treasury and serves the thousands of ordinary citizens who are abused and crushed every day by a system that presumes their guilt and forces them to prove their innocence at the cost of economic and emotional ruin.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
18 May 2026
-
The 68-year-old pharmacist has targeted a House ethics investigation into whether Collins abused taxpayer funds by hiring the girlfriend of his former chief of staff — now his campaign adviser — for work that the woman allegedly did not perform.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
The work was in part funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health or ARPA-H, which Jang said planned to commercialize the technology.—
Katie Hunt,
CNN Money,
17 May 2026
-
The pact also gives Hengrui the rights to commercialize four immunology drugs from Bristol in that region.—
Andrew Joseph,
STAT,
12 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Commodify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/commodify. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
