Dictionary

humanize en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈhjuː.mə.naɪz/ (UK, US)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin hūmānusbor. Old French umain Middle French humainbor. Middle English humayne English human Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English humanize From human + -ize.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make human; to give or cause to have the fundamental properties of a human.
   • VVas it the buſineſs of magic to humanize our natures with compaſſion, forgiveneſs, and all the inſtances of the moſt extenſive charity? a. 1720 (date written), Joseph Addison, “Section II. The Power and Wisdom of God in the Creation.”, in The Evidences of the Christian Religion, […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], published 1730, →OCLC, subsection IV, page 16:
   • A waiter brought his aperitif, which was a small scotch and soda, and as he sipped it gratefully he sighed. ‘Civilized,’ he said to Mr. Campion. ‘Humanizing.’ […] ‘Cigars and summer days and women in big hats with swansdown face-powder, that's what it reminds me of.’ 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter V, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
2. (transitive) To make sympathetic or relatable.
   • Like the three ceremonial functions based on the Constitutions, these informal chief of state activities emphasize the president's role as the leader of the nation, but many of them also serve to humanize the president and symbolically bridge the gap between the president and the people. 2012, CQ Press, The Powers of the Presidency, pages 40–41:
   • The Oscar-winning film The Iron Lady humanised Thatcher. 2012 January 9, “Margaret Thatcher: Let's hear it for the Iron Lady, comedy's greatest straight man”, in The Independent:
   • We can also expect the company to continue to humanize data in creative ways like it did when it used its vast amounts of data to launch a global ad campaign that highlighted some of the more bizarre user habits of 2016. 2017 October 30, Bernard Marr, “The Amazing Ways Spotify Uses Big Data, AI And Machine Learning To Drive Business Success”, in Forbes:
   • I think they would try to humanize the worst villains in history out of their fear that the audience might not like the central character. 2000, Robert J. Emery, The directors: in their own words, volume 2, page 267:
3. (transitive) To convert into something human or belonging to humans.
   • to humanize vaccine lymph
   • humanized monoclonal antibodies
4. (qualifier:artificial intelligence, transitive) To make (an AI-generated text) seem as though it was written by a human.

Forms

Antonyms

dehumanize

Deriveds

humanization · overhumanize · humanizable · unhumanize · humanizer · rehumanize

Translations (24)

fi humaanistaa (to make human) · ca humanitzar (to make human) · pl uczłowieczać (to make human) · id manusiakan (to make human) · da humanisere (to make human) · pt humanizar (to make human) · pl uczłowieczyć (to make human) · fi inhimillistyä (to make human) · sq njerizoj (to make human) · it umanizzare (to make human) · bg очовечавам (to make human) · ru очеловечить (to make human) · uk олюднити (to make human) · fr humaniser (to make human) · bg цивилизовам (to make human) · de humanisieren (to make human) · fi inhimillistää (to make human) · tr insanlaşmak (to make human) · fi humaanistua (to make human) · gl humanizar (to make human) · da menneskeliggøre (to make human) · et inimlikustama (to make human) · es humanizar (to make human) · cs humanizovat (to make human)

humanize en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /hjuːˈmeɪn.aɪz/ (UK, US)

Etymology

Etymology tree English humane Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor. Late Latin -izōder. Middle French -iserbor. Middle English -isen English -ize English humanize From humane + -ize.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To make humane.
   • In China, as in India, Buddhism humanized the government and the people. It was a Chinese Emperor, Ming-Ti (a.d. 58-76), converted to Buddhism that abolished the penalty of death. 1932, Mariadas Ruthnaswamy, The making of the state, page 102:
   • And consequently he humanized the company. He instituted excellent employee benefits. 1974, Al Parsons, Lightning in the Sun: A History of Florida Power Corporation, 1899-1974, page 154:
   • Some leftists believed that Cardenas humanized the government and harmonized its workings with the needs of the common people at the same time that peasant and worker activists placed demands on the political system. 1995, John A. Britton, Revolution and Ideology: Images of the Mexican Revolution in the United States, page 145:
2. (intransitive) To become humane or civilized.

Forms