dehumanization

[ dee-hyoo-muh-nahy-zey-shuhn or, often, -yoo- ]

noun
  1. the act of regarding, representing, or treating a person or group as less than human:Dehumanization of the enemy is often what sustains the rationale for a war.Before trafficked humans are fully enslaved, they are drugged, tortured, and abused as part of the process of dehumanization.

  2. the process of depriving a person or population of human qualities or attributes such as compassion, dignity, individuality, etc.:When science is not touched by a sense of moral values, it works—as it has done fairly consistently over the past century—toward a complete dehumanization of the social order.

Origin of dehumanization

1
  • Also especially British, de·hu·man·i·sa·tion .

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024