ANIMALIZE Synonyms: 33 Similar and Opposite Words

animalize

verb

ˈa-nə-mə-ˌlīz

Definition of animalize

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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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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for animalize

Verb

See affected product Symptoms of salmonella poisoning Symptoms of salmonella poisoning usually start six hours to six days after ingesting the bacteria.

— Julia Gomez, USA Today, 24 Aug. 2026
Glutathione is processed in sterile compounding pharmacies, and there have been cases of people getting poisoned due to contamination at these facilities, Sack said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of poison

Verb

Much of the behavior on display is plainly harassment and bullying, often filmed without the subjects’ knowledge or consent and uploaded online to humiliate them further.

— Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 19 Aug. 2026
In their first national title game, the Wildcats humiliated Oklahoma in the national semifinal by 44, and in their second, demoralized Michigan in the title game by 17.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of humiliate

Verb

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

Definition of dehumanize

Verb

In 2022, two corrections officers at the Laurens County Detention Center in South Carolina were arrested and charged with brutalizing an inmate and using a GLOVE device to repeatedly stun them, CNN noted.

— Frank Landymore, Futurism, 12 Aug. 2026
Each competitor was giving it their all with brutalizing chops, tough suplexes and going above and beyond to try to win that championship.

— Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 15 July 2026

Definition of brutalize

Browse Nearby Words

animality

animalize

animalized

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“Animalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalize. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of animalize

verb

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