Standard Lemma guide

dehumanize

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /diːˈhjuːmənaɪz/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 HH Y UW1 M AH0 N AY0 Z Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To take away humanity; to remove or deny human qualities, characteristics, or attributes; to impersonalize.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

make mechanical or routine

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dehumanise

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mechanize, mechanise

3

verb

Meaning 3

deprive of human qualities

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Life in poverty has dehumanized them

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dehumanise

Antonyms: humanize

Broader terms: take down, degrade, disgrace, demean, put down

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h1 Proto-Indo-European *déh1 Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē-der. English de- Latin hūmānus Old French umain Middle French humainbor. Middle English humayne English human Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English humanize English dehumanize From de- + humanize.

Across languages

Translations

51 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: çnjerëzoj — to take away humanity
  • Armenian: ապամարդկայնացնել (apamardkaynacʻnel) — to take away humanity
  • Belarusian: дэгуманізава́ць (dehumanizavácʹ) — to take away humanity
  • Bulgarian: дехуманизи́рам (dehumanizíram) — to take away humanity
  • Catalan: deshumanitzar — to take away humanity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 獸化 /兽化 (shòuhuà) — to take away humanity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 非人化 (fēirénhuà) — to take away humanity
  • Czech: dehumanizovat — to take away humanity
  • Danish: dehumanisere — to take away humanity
  • Dutch: ontmenselijken — to take away humanity
  • Dutch: dehumaniseren — to take away humanity
  • Finnish: epäinhimillistää — to take away humanity
  • Finnish: dehumanisoida — to take away humanity
  • Finnish: eläimellistää — to take away humanity
  • Finnish: ottaa pois ihmisarvo — to take away humanity
  • French: déshumaniser — to take away humanity
  • Galician: deshumanizar — to take away humanity
  • German: entmenschen — to take away humanity
  • German: entmenschlichen — to take away humanity
  • German: dehumanisieren — to take away humanity
  • Greek: απανθρωπεύω (apanthropévo) — to take away humanity
  • Icelandic: gera ómennskan — to take away humanity
  • Icelandic: gera að tilfinningalausri skepnu — to take away humanity
  • Ido: deshumanigar — to take away humanity
  • Italian: disumanizzare — to take away humanity
  • Macedonian: дехуманизи́ра (dehumanizíra) — to take away humanity
  • Norwegian Bokmål: dehumanisere — to take away humanity
  • Polish: odczłowieczać — to take away humanity
  • Polish: odczłowieczyć — to take away humanity
  • Polish: dehumanizować — to take away humanity
  • Polish: zdehumanizować — to take away humanity
  • Portuguese: desumanizar — to take away humanity
  • Romanian: dezumaniza — to take away humanity
  • Russian: обесчелове́чивать (obesčelovéčivatʹ) — to take away humanity
  • Russian: обесчелове́чить (obesčelovéčitʹ) — to take away humanity
  • Russian: дегуманизи́ровать (degumanizírovatʹ) — to take away humanity
  • Russian: расчелове́чивать (rasčelovéčivatʹ) — to take away humanity
  • Russian: расчелове́чить (rasčelovéčitʹ) — to take away humanity
  • Serbo-Croatian: дехуманизирати — to take away humanity
  • Serbo-Croatian: дехуманизовати — to take away humanity
  • Serbo-Croatian: dehumanizirati — to take away humanity
  • Serbo-Croatian: dehumanizovati — to take away humanity
  • Slovak: dehumanizovať — to take away humanity
  • Slovene: dehumanizirati — to take away humanity
  • Slovene: razčlovečiti — to take away humanity
  • Spanish: deshumanizar — to take away humanity
  • Swedish: avhumanisera — to take away humanity
  • Tok Pisin: daunim — to take away humanity
  • Ukrainian: дегуманізува́ти (dehumanizuváty) — to take away humanity
  • Ukrainian: розлю́днювати (rozljúdnjuvaty) — to take away humanity
  • Ukrainian: розлю́днити (rozljúdnyty) — to take away humanity