Dictionary

commodify en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /kəˈmɑ.dɪ.faɪ/ (General-American)
• (US) audio
• /kəˈmɒ.dɪ.faɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin com- Proto-Indo-European *med- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Italic *medos Latin modus Latin commodus Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin commoditāsder. Anglo-Norman commoditeebor. Middle English commoditee English commodity Latin -i- Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-der. Proto-Italic *θakos Proto-Italic *-fakos Latin -ficus Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin -ficō Latin -ificāreder. Old French -ifierbor. Middle English -ifien English -ify English commodify From commodity + -ify.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make something into a commodity, sometimes at the expense of its intrinsic value.
   • [… 2009 January 17, John R. MacArthur, “Hope as a commodity”, in Toronto Star:
   • Our attention spans have been chopped up and commodified, sold off piecemeal to platforms and algorithms. We’re too busy, too lazy, too preoccupied to lose ourselves in books. 2023 June 21, A. O. Scott, “Everyone Likes Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
   • The T-shirt is white, with a simple message, “Freedom,” rendered in plain black letters across the chest. It’s also now widely available for sale, indicative of an internet culture that instantaneously commodifies any significant event. 2025 September 14, Alexander Nazaryan, “‘Freedom’ Shirt Becomes a Meme and an Instant Commodity”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
   • As capitalism, especially in its current neoliberal and globalized form, seeks to commodify the world, to transform everything existing—earth, water, air, living creatures, the human body, human relationships, love, religion—into commodities, so advertising aims to sell those commodities by forcing living individuals to serve the commercial necessities of capital. 2010 January, Michael Löwy, “Advertising Is a “Serious Health Threat”—to the Environment”, in Monthly Review, volume 6, number 8, →ISSN, page 21:
   • With over 160 lavish full-color images, 20 mouth-watering recipes, and 40 essays on food, love, and life, La Figa is a genuine treat for the senses and an invitation to approach something that's been overly functionalized and commodified with a little bit more playfulness, poignancy, and poetry. 2011 June 9, Maria Popova, “In a New Book, Food and Sensuality Become Art”, in The Atlantic:

Forms

Deriveds

commodifier · commodificational · commodificative · commodifiable · recommodify · commodifiability · commodification

Relateds

decommodify

Synonyms

commoditize · commercialize

Translations (12)

hi बाज़ारीकरण (to make something a commodity) · pt comercializar (to make something a commodity) · es mercantilizar (to make something a commodity) · ko 상품화하다 (to make something a commodity) · mi whakataongahoko (to make something a commodity) · de kommodifizieren (to make something a commodity) · pl utowarowić (to make something a commodity) · cmn 商品化 (to make something a commodity) · ca mercantilitzar (to make something a commodity) · pl komercjalizować (to make something a commodity) · pl skomercjalizować (to make something a commodity) · de kommerzialisieren (to make something a commodity)