What does bestializing mean?
"Bestializing" is the present participle of the verb "bestialize," meaning to reduce someone or something to the level of a beast — to strip away qualities regarded as distinctly human, such as reason, dignity, and moral restraint, and leave only appetite or savagery. It is most often found in formal or literary contexts, particularly in moral and social criticism: writers speak of war, propaganda, degrading labour conditions, or violent entertainment as bestializing both their victims and their perpetrators. The word carries strongly negative connotations, implying not merely rough treatment but an active corruption of character or culture. Its antonym, "humanizing," marks exactly the opposite process — elevating toward compassion and refinement. Because the image at its heart is stark and visceral, "bestializing" remains a forceful choice when a writer wants to condemn degradation in the strongest terms.
verb (present participle of 'bestialize')To reduce a person, society, or behaviour to the level of a beast; to make savage, brutish, or dehumanized.
- To reduce a person, group, or society to a brutish or animal-like condition.
- To behave in or treat something with bestial savagery.
"The critic argued that gratuitous violence in media was bestializing its audience rather than entertaining it."
"Propaganda of that era worked by bestializing the enemy until ordinary people could no longer see their humanity."
"He warned that cruelty, repeated often enough, has a way of bestializing the one who inflicts it."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bestializing
The word derives from Latin "bestialis," meaning "of or like a beast," itself formed from "bestia," the Latin word for a wild animal. English adopted the adjective "bestial" in the late Middle Ages, and the verb "bestialize" was formed from it in the early modern period by adding the Latinate suffix "-ize." Cognates appear across Romance languages, including French "bestial" and Italian "bestiale," all tracing back to the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How bestializing is actually used
A formal, literary word, typically used in moral, social, or philosophical criticism. It carries strong negative connotations and appears more often in British and academic writing than in everyday speech. The base verb 'bestialize' is somewhat more common than the participle.
Easily confused with bestializing
'Bestiality' is primarily the noun for sexual relations between humans and animals (or figuratively, extreme brutality), while 'bestializing' is the act of reducing something to an animal-like state.