Unpersonify

To remove or strip an individual or group of their personhood, humanity, or unique characteristics, effectively reducing them to an abstract concept, a statistic, or a non-entity. This process often involves dehumanization, erasure of identity, and the denial of individual agency. It can be a deliberate act to justify mistreatment, marginalization, or violence, or an unintended consequence of systemic bias or ideological rigidity. The core of unpersonification lies in depriving someone of their recognition as a complex, feeling being with inherent value.

Unpersonify meaning with examples

• The propaganda machine worked tirelessly to unpersonify the enemy, portraying them as monstrous beings devoid of empathy, thus justifying the brutality of the war. By stripping away their individual identities, they made it easier for the public to accept the dehumanizing acts of violence. They unpersonified the population as a whole, leaving them feeling empty and alone.
• In Orwell's '1984', the Party systematically works to unpersonify individuals through surveillance, thought control, and the rewriting of history. Citizens become mere cogs in the machine, losing their capacity for independent thought and emotional expression. The concept of the 'unperson' embodies this loss of identity.
• The dehumanizing language used in the media and political discourse aims to unpersonify refugees and immigrants, portraying them as an faceless wave, and thus generating hostility and prejudice. This allows for restrictive policies and other such practices to be enforced with less concern.
• Through the generations in this part of the world, many have unpersonified the natural environment, reducing forests and oceans into the singular goal of commodities, justifying its exploitation as the singular purpose. This has led to unprecedented damage in these environments.
• After the public outrage on the internet about the recent incident, many felt it necessary to unpersonify the assailant of his actions, but the court of law refused to reduce his personhood, leading to a fair trial.