objectify
Other forms: objectified; objectifying; objectifies
To objectify someone is to treat them as an object rather than as a human being. If your teacher thinks children should be seen and not heard, you might say he objectifies kids.
There are many different ways to objectify a person, including forcing them to be silent, focusing on just their physical body and not their mind, or implying that their appearance or outward beauty is the only important thing about them. You can also use this verb's original meaning, "to take something abstract and make it concrete." Artists objectify abstract feelings and emotions by turning them into physical works of art, for example.
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treat or regard as a thing, rather than as a personsynonyms: depersonalise, depersonalize, objectivize
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give reality to; represent in concrete formsynonyms: exteriorise, exteriorize, externalise, externalize, objectivize
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Vocabulary lists containing objectify
When Bijan Majidi sinks the winning basket at a varsity basketball game, he unexpectedly finds himself enjoying the perks of popularity. But his success also sparks rivalry — and makes Bijan the target of an anonymous cyberbully.
Worrying about all the possible things that could happen, sixteen-year-old Sadie Dixon has difficulty leaving her house in Oakland, California, especially after she witnesses a violent injustice.