depersonalize

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /diˈpɚsənəˌlaɪz/ UK /diːˈpɜːsənəlaɪz/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to deprive of individuality or human character

Bureaucratic forms tend to depersonalize the people they process.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to deprive of individuality... dehumanizedeindividualizeobjectify alienate

Opposites

personalize humanize individualize

Word family

Derived forms depersonalizationdepersonalizeddepersonalizing

Related forms person personal personalize

Etymology

Formed from the prefix de- ('removal, reversal') plus personalize; personal is from Latin personalis, from persona ('mask, character, person').

de- Latin persona Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# depersonalize

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /diˈpɚsənəˌlaɪz/
**IPA (UK):** /diːˈpɜːsənəlaɪz/

## Meanings
1. to deprive of individuality or human character

## Examples
- Bureaucratic forms tend to depersonalize the people they process.

## Synonyms
- dehumanize
- deindividualize
- objectify
- alienate

## Antonyms
- personalize
- humanize
- individualize

## Derived Forms
- depersonalization
- depersonalized
- depersonalizing

## Related Forms
- person
- personal
- personalize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: de-
- Root: persona

## Etymology
Formed from the prefix de- ('removal, reversal') plus personalize; personal is from Latin personalis, from persona ('mask, character, person').

## AI Etymology
Depersonalize has the etymological history Formed from the prefix de- ('removal, reversal') plus personalize; personal is from Latin personalis, from persona ('mask, character, person'). The ancestry passes through Latin de- and Latin persona. The prefix de- often marks removal, reversal, or downward motion in Latin formations, helping to explain the word's surface structure. In present use as a verb, it means "to deprive of individuality or human character", keeping the historical formation close to the word's ordinary semantic work. Related words include person, personal, and personalize; derived forms include depersonalization, depersonalized, and depersonalizing.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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