Animalizing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of rendering a person or object as if it possesses traits or qualities associated with animals
2. The process of infusing human or inanimate subjects with animalistic features or behaviors
3. The process of giving human beings or things traits typical of animals

Etymology: "Animalizing" is the present participle of "animalize," which combines the adjective "animal" with the suffix "-ize," a pattern that turns an adjective into a verb meaning "to make or cause to become" something. So "animalize" means to make something animal-like, and the -ing ending simply marks the act in progress. The base adjective "animal" has a long history in English of describing creatures in contrast to humans, and it later gained the sense of brutish or unrefined behavior. "Animalize" carries that same contrast forward, so applying it to a person or object suggests stripping away refinement or giving it the traits of a beast. Because the root is a plain English adjective and the suffix is a productive one, the word is a transparent formation rather than a borrowing. Its meaning can be read directly from its parts.

Synonyms: personifying, embodying