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

Its death, poisoned by anti-freeze in April 2020 during Spain’s COVID confinement, sparks on screen and real-life the first criminal investigation in Spain and Europe for an animal’s slaughter.

— John Hopewell, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Above all, Flanagan understands how even a mother’s love can be poisoned by fear when Carrie uses her newfound powers to wrest control of the household from her mother.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of poison

Verb

Their partnership fractured over Gilpin's refusal to keep delivering dehumanizing racial slurs written into the script, a dispute that ultimately led to Gilpin being replaced by a young Paul Robeson when the production went overseas.

— La'Tasha Givens, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
The Israeli-American Council forcefully condemned his rhetoric as dangerous, dehumanizing hate speech.

— Staff, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of dehumanize

Verb

But critics have warned the gloves will give ICE another weapon to intimidate and brutalize people even as the agency is under fire for excessive force that has left a trail of deaths and injuries across the nation.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026
Allegations of abuse, inmates being brutalized by jailers, and dire conditions have plagued the facility for years, leading some county leaders, former sheriffs and civil rights advocates to call for the jail to be closed.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of brutalize

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animality

animalize

animalized

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“Animalize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/animalize. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of animalize

verb

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