Anthropomorphizes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The practice of assigning human attributes and emotions to non-human things happens when animals, objects, or concepts are given traits traditionally associated with humans
2. The act of putting human characteristics onto non-human entities occurs when various forms, such as animals or abstract ideas, are expressed through human-like qualities and behaviors
3. The process of attributing human characteristics to animals, objects, or ideas manifests when conveying emotions and traits typically associated with humanity

Etymology: "Anthropomorphizes" is the third-person singular form of "anthropomorphize," so its history is that of the verb it inflects. The verb is built from three parts: "anthropo-," from Greek "anthrōpos" meaning "human being," "-morph," from Greek "morphē" meaning "form" or "shape," and the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make into" or "to treat as." Put together, the literal sense is something like "to give human shape or form." The surprise lies in the mismatch between the parts and the meaning. Nothing in the component pieces mentions emotion, personality, or the attribution of traits; the word's core is physical form, and the sense of projecting human feelings onto non-human things is a later extension. The verb's form is a classical-style coinage, so it was assembled from Greek building blocks rather than inherited from ancient speakers.

Synonyms: personifies, attributes human traits