Instrumentalized

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. Used merely as a means to an end, with one's worth reduced to usefulness for someone else's aims ; made to function as a tool or device for achieving a particular objective
2. Exploited as a mere implement for another party's goals ; turned into a vehicle or mechanism serving a specific purpose
3. Reduced to being a convenient tool for others' agendas ; shaped into a means employed to accomplish a set outcome

Etymology: "Instrumentalized" is the past form of "instrumentalize", which combines "instrumental" with the suffix "-ize". The suffix has a long lineage: it travelled from ancient Greek "-izein", through Late Latin "-izare", into Old French and Middle English as "-isen", and eventually settled into the modern "-ize" spelling, used to turn nouns and adjectives into verbs meaning "to make into" or "to treat as". "Instrumental" carries the older sense of the pair. It describes something that serves as a means or tool, the "instrument" through which an end is achieved. Attaching "-ize" to it produces a verb meaning to treat a person or thing merely as a means to an end, rather than as valuable in its own right. The past form therefore describes someone or something that has already been used in this way.

Synonyms: exploited, utilized, used