Word
anthropomorphism
Phoneticsan·thro·po·mor·phism
US/ˌænθɹəpəˈmɔɹfɪzəm/
UK/ˈænθɹəpˌɒmɔːfˌɪzəm/
Definition
n. treating animals, objects, or gods as if they were human. You see this when a cartoon animal talks or wears clothes like a person.
n. the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities, such as animals or inanimate objects.
Examples
“The movie uses anthropomorphism to make the talking cars seem real.”
“Children's literature often relies on anthropomorphism, giving forest animals human voices and complex social problems to solve.”
“While anthropomorphism can help the public empathize with endangered species, scientists warn that projecting human emotions onto wild animals can lead to dangerous misunderstandings of their behavior.”
Examples
simple
“The movie uses anthropomorphism to make the talking cars seem real.”
contextual
“Children's literature often relies on anthropomorphism, giving forest animals human voices and complex social problems to solve.”
complex
“While anthropomorphism can help the public empathize with endangered species, scientists warn that projecting human emotions onto wild animals can lead to dangerous misunderstandings of their behavior.”
Usage
Often used in the context of literature, psychology, and religious studies.
Real-World Examples
“Discussions about animals and their grieving processes often provoke accusations of anthropomorphism—the inclination to attribute human traits to nonhuman creatures.” “Anthropomorphism", whereby a nonhuman animal or object is given human characteristics, is at the heart, John Berger suggested, of humans' warped relationship with the animal world.” “At its most extreme, anthropomorphism — fallacy attributing characteristics tohuman entities — can lead us to project our perceptions and motives onto animals, reducing the worldview of another species to a rudimentary version of our own.” Etymology
From the verb anthropomorphize, which combines Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “human”) and μορφή (morphḗ, “form”). First recorded in 1753, when it described the heresy of giving the Christian God a human form.
Etymology adapted from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Domains
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/anthropomorphism