Animalize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To reduce to a bestial state or to represent with animal characteristics
2. To attribute characteristics or qualities typical of animals to a person or thing ; to transform or alter something so it becomes more animal-like in nature or behavior
3. To give a human or object features commonly found in animals ; to cause something to resemble or act in a way similar to an animal

Etymology: "Animalize" is built from "animal" and the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning to make something into, or give it the qualities of, the base word. Here the base is the adjective "animal," so the verb means to endow something with animal characteristics, as in animalizing a poem's imagery or a person's behavior. The suffix itself came into English through Latin and Greek routes, appearing in countless verbs such as "civilize" and "modernize," which makes "animalize" a straightforward example of a productive English pattern rather than a word with an unusual past.

Synonyms: dehumanize, bestialize, brutalize

Antonyms: civilize, humanize