dehumanised
Treated as objects
Dehumanised is the British spelling of dehumanized.
To be dehumanised is to be stripped of human qualities, dignity, or individuality—treated as less than a person.
The word appears in discussions of atrocities, oppression, and degrading conditions: Prisoners were dehumanised by the guards.
Systems and institutions can dehumanise people by reducing them to numbers or categories.
Savage, merciless behavior
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
- barbarismSavage, uncivilized behavior
- inhumanityExtreme cruelty toward others
- callousnessCruel emotional indifference
heartlessness · mercilessness · pitilessness · sadism · viciousness · atrocity · cold-bloodedness · torture
Reducing humans to things
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- debasementDiminishing worth or purity
- humiliationLoss of dignity
- commodificationTransforming into sellable goods
reduction · stripping · diminishment · belittlement · demeaning · indignity · disrespect · abasement
Forcing into submission
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
- disenfranchisementRemoval of voting rights
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
discrimination · victimization · enslavement · colonization · domination · tyranny · suppression · dispossession
State of being severed
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- numbnessLoss of sensation
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
anomie · disassociation · isolation · emptiness · invisibility · erasure · voicelessness · facelessness
Confinement for offenders
- asylumShelter from persecution
- concentration campFacility for mass political detention
- sweatshopExploitative manufacturing workplace
- factoryIndustrial production facility
workhouse · detention center · refugee camp · slaughterhouse · plantation · gulag · labor camp · institution
brutality
Savage, merciless behavior
- savageryExtreme, violent cruelty
- barbarismSavage, uncivilized behavior
- inhumanityExtreme cruelty toward others
callousness · heartlessness · mercilessness · pitilessness · sadism · viciousness · atrocity · cold-bloodedness · torture · abuse
objectification
Reducing humans to things
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- debasementDiminishing worth or purity
- humiliationLoss of dignity
commodification · reduction · stripping · diminishment · belittlement · demeaning · indignity · disrespect · abasement · contempt
subjugation
Forcing into submission
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- marginalizationRelegation to powerless periphery
- disenfranchisementRemoval of voting rights
persecution · discrimination · victimization · enslavement · colonization · domination · tyranny · suppression · dispossession · trafficking
disconnection
State of being severed
- estrangementEmotional separation between people
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- numbnessLoss of sensation
detachment · anomie · disassociation · isolation · emptiness · invisibility · erasure · voicelessness · facelessness · anonymization
prison
Confinement for offenders
- asylumShelter from persecution
- concentration campFacility for mass political detention
- sweatshopExploitative manufacturing workplace
factory · workhouse · detention center · refugee camp · slaughterhouse · plantation · gulag · labor camp · institution · warehouse
dehumanisedhumanised
Made more human-like
humanized · human · dignified · personified · individuated
dehumanisedempowered
Given power to act
liberated · enfranchised · emancipated · uplifted · autonomous