verb
- to make or become like a beast; to dehumanize or degrade to an animal-like state
Usage: formal; literary
Examples
- The harsh conditions of war can bestialize even the most civilized people.
- Critics argued that the prison system served to bestialize inmates rather than rehabilitate them.
- The dictator’s propaganda sought to bestialize his enemies in the public mind.
- Years of abuse had begun to bestialize the once-gentle man.
- The novel explores how poverty can bestialize human behavior.
- She refused to let her circumstances bestialize her spirit.