dehumanise

/di:'hju:mənaiz/ Cách viết khác : (dehumanize) /di:'hju:mənaiz/

Thân thiện

A factory worker feels dehumanised by the repetitive assembly line.

Definition

1. Verb (transitive):
   • To deprive of human qualities, personality, or dignity: To treat someone or something in a way that reduces or removes their human characteristics, often making them seem like an object or machine.
   • To make mechanical or routine: To remove the human element from a process, making it impersonal and automatic.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:
  • The brutal conditions of the prison camp were designed to dehumanise the inmates. (Here, 'dehumanise' means to strip away the prisoners' sense of dignity and individuality.)
  • Repetitive factory work can dehumanise people, making them feel like cogs in a machine. (In this example, 'dehumanise' refers to making work and workers feel mechanical and impersonal.)
  • Propaganda often dehumanises the enemy to make it easier to justify violence against them. (This usage shows how 'dehumanise' can involve portraying a group as less than human.)

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• Dehumanising language: Language that denies the humanity of a person or group.
  • Using terms like "vermin" or "animals" for people is a form of dehumanising language.
• Dehumanising treatment: Actions or policies that treat people as if they are not human.
  • The dehumanising treatment of refugees at the border sparked international outrage.

Variants and Related Words

• Dehumanize (verb): The preferred spelling in American English. It has the same meaning as 'dehumanise'.
• Dehumanisation / Dehumanization (noun): The process or result of dehumanising.
  • The dehumanisation of workers is a major concern in some industries.
• Dehumanised / Dehumanized (adjective): Describing a state of having been deprived of human qualities.
  • The survivors felt utterly dehumanised by their ordeal.

Synonyms

• Brutalise: To treat in a brutal manner, making someone cruel or insensitive.
• Objectify: To treat a person as an object or thing, disregarding their personality or dignity.
• Desensitise: To make less sensitive or responsive, often to suffering.

Antonyms

• Humanise / Humanize: To make humane, kind, or civilized; to give a human character to.
• Dignify: To confer honor or dignity upon; to elevate.

Related Phrases and Concepts

• Loss of empathy: A common consequence of dehumanisation, where the capacity to understand and share the feelings of others is diminished.
• Psychological warfare: Dehumanisation is often used as a tactic in psychological warfare to make opposing forces easier to attack.

Học thuật

Verb

1. make mechanical or routine
2. deprive of human qualities
   • Life in poverty has dehumanized them

Từ đồng nghĩa

• dehumanize