Animalize

To animalize means to attribute or impose animal-like qualities, characteristics, behaviors, or instincts onto a non-animal entity, such as a person, a group of people, an abstract concept, or an inanimate object. This can involve portraying something as driven by base desires, primal urges, or lacking higher reasoning and moral constraints, similar to the perceived behaviors of animals. The act of animalizing can be used literally, metaphorically, or pejoratively, depending on the context and intent. It usually implies a reductionist approach, focusing on the assumed instinctive, physical, or aggressive aspects while ignoring or minimizing aspects of reason, emotion, or complex social structures.

Animalize meaning with examples

• The political cartoon animalized the opposing candidate by depicting him as a ravenous wolf, highlighting his alleged ruthlessness and insatiable ambition, thereby simplifying a complex argument to an appeal to basic fear. The artist chose an aggressive animal to evoke those base instincts within the voters.
• In dystopian novels, the oppressive regime often animalizes its citizens, stripping them of their individuality and reducing them to cogs in a machine driven by unquestioning obedience. They are controlled through fear, starvation, and the constant threat of physical violence, becoming almost brutish in their survival instincts.
• The author, when describing her experience in an abusive household, described how her abuser animalized her by calling her names and making her believe she was nothing but a beast. This psychological manipulation stripped her of self-worth and control, using the language to dehumanize her.
• The marketing campaign attempted to animalize the product, presenting it as a must-have based on the instinctual desires of consumers. This was achieved through visuals, taglines, and limited time offers, appealing to emotions and short-term desires, rather than rational analysis. It played on the hunter gatherer impulse.