humanize

hu·man·ize
H4U1M3A1N1I1Z10E1
UK, US/ˈhjuː.mə.naɪz/UK, US/hjuːˈmeɪn.aɪz/

verb

To make human; to give or cause to have the fundamental properties of a human.

“to humanize vaccine lymph”

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Opposite
UncommonScrabble 22

Meanings

humanize1

verbhumanize (third-person singular simple present humanizes, present participle humanizing, simple past and past participle humanized)

present singular third person humanizes · participle present humanizing · participle past humanized · past humanized · alternative humanise

  1. transitiveTo 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
    1 more example

    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. transitiveTo make sympathetic or relatable.

    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
    3 more examples

    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

    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

    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
  3. transitivemedicineTo convert into something human or belonging to humans.

    to humanize vaccine lymph

    1 more example

    humanized monoclonal antibodies

  4. transitiveartificial intelligenceTo make (an AI-generated text) seem as though it was written by a human.

humanize2

verbhumanize (third-person singular simple present humanizes, present participle humanizing, simple past and past participle humanized)

present singular third person humanizes · participle present humanizing · participle past humanized · past humanized · alternative humanise

  1. transitiveTo make humane.

    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
    2 more examples

    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

    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. intransitiveTo become humane or civilized.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite

verbmake more humane

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Opposite
Also see

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

humanize · verb

  1. Latinhūmānu
  2. Old Frenchumain
  3. Middle Frenchhumain
  4. Middle Englishhumayne
  5. Englishhuman
  6. Englishhumanize

From human + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian очовечавам, цивилизовам
  • очовечавам (očovečavam)to make human
  • цивилизовам (civilizovam)to make human
Catalan humanitzar
  • humanitzarto make human
Czech humanizovat
  • humanizovatto make human
Danish humanisere, menneskeliggøre
  • humanisereto make human
  • menneskeliggøreto make human
Estonian inimlikustama
  • inimlikustamato make human
Finnish inhimillistää, humaanistaa
  • inhimillistääto make human
  • humaanistaato make human
  • inhimillistyäto make human
  • humaanistuato make human
French humaniser
  • humaniserto make human
German humanisieren
  • humanisierento make human
Indonesian manusiakan
  • manusiakanto make human
Italian umanizzare
  • umanizzareto make human
Polish uczłowieczyć, uczłowieczać
  • uczłowieczyćto make human
  • uczłowieczaćto make human
Portuguese humanizar
  • humanizarto make human
Russian очеловечить
  • очеловечить (očelovečitʹ)to make human
Spanish humanizar
  • humanizarto make human
Turkish insanlaşmak
  • insanlaşmakto make human
Ukrainian олюднити
  • олюднити (oljudnyty)to make human
Cite this entry
APA

humanize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/humanize

MLA

“humanize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/humanize. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “humanize,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/humanize.

Source: humanize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.