demonize

present singular third person demonizes · participle present demonizing · participle past demonized · past demonized · alternative UK demonise · alternative archaic daemonise · alternative archaic daemonize · alternative archaic dæmonize

1. transitiveTo turn into a demon.

   Synonyms: demonify, diabolize · Antonyms: angelify, angelize

2. figurativelytransitiveTo describe or represent as evil or diabolic, usually falsely.

   It brags “we can replace them”—and gaslights and demonizes those who notice and object to being replaced.

   2023 July 21, Michael Anton, “The Pessimistic Case for the Future”, in Compact, archived from the original on 26 Mar 2024

   3 more examples

   President Trump has seized on the response in the streets to police brutality against Black men and women to bolster his re-election campaign, employing provocative and sometimes incendiary language and images to incite his followers, demonize his opponents or both.

   2020 September 1, Peter Baker, “Trump has a long history of language that incites and demonizes.”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2020

   He calls for a “massive, urgent recruitment effort,” which is a fine idea, but one that’s likely to be futile unless we stop demonizing teachers and start paying them fairly.

   2022 October 3, Michelle Goldberg, “Boys and Men Are in Crisis Because Society Is”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 21 Mar 2023

   Many people disagree with several things society has normalized, some of which are even demonized. Frustratingly, attaching a stigma to perfectly reasonable things makes people feel attacked when they publicly do them. Here are 18 things that society has unfairly demonized that should be considered normal.

   2024 May 11, Isabella Sylvester, “18 Things Society Has Demonized That Should Be Considered Normal”, in MSN, archived from the original on 16 May 2024

   Synonyms: monster, monsterize, vilify, villainize, assassinate, asperse, backbite, badmouth