Instrumentalised

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Treated merely as a tool for achieving someone else's aims ; made into a device or implement used to accomplish a purpose
2. Exploited as a means to an end, with little regard for the person or thing itself ; employed as an instrument to carry out a specific function
3. Used in a calculated way to serve another's goals ; turned into a utensil or mechanism put to practical use

Etymology: "Instrumentalised" is the past tense and past participle of "instrumentalise", a verb built from the adjective "instrumental" and the suffix "-ise". The adjective itself comes from "instrument", which in English has long meant a tool or device, and the sense of something serving as a means to an end is what the verb draws on. The suffix traces back through Middle French "-iser" and Late Latin "-izare" to Ancient Greek "-izein", which was used to form verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat in the manner of". Its English form was shaped by these earlier borrowings, so the verb is a straightforward English formation rather than a word inherited directly from classical times. The verb carries the core idea of turning something into a tool. To instrumentalise a person or cause is to treat it as a means to someone else's purpose, usually without regard for its own worth. The past forms describe that action as already completed, as in a claim that a group had been instrumentalised by a political movement.

Synonyms: exploited, used, manipulated, utilised, utilized

Antonyms: neglected, ignored, disregarded