demonize
To turn into a demon.
Verb
- To turn into a demon.
- To describe or represent as evil or diabolic, usually falsely.
- President Trump has seized on the response in the streets to police brutality against Black men and women to bolster his re-election campaign, employing provocative and sometimes incendiary language and images to incite...
- He calls for a “massive, urgent recruitment effort,” which is a fine idea, but one that’s likely to be futile unless we stop demonizing teachers and start paying them fairly. - 2022 October 3, Michelle Goldberg, “Boys...
- It brags “we can replace them”—and gaslights and demonizes those who notice and object to being replaced. - 2023 July 21, Michael Anton, “The Pessimistic Case for the Future”, in Compact, archived from the original on...
Synonyms: monster monsterize vilify villainize assassinate asperse backbite badmouth befoul belibel besmirch besmear bewray blacken blame blaze blemish blot blur calumniate calumny chat shit chat shite cloud
Origin
From Medieval Latin daemonizō, from daemon + -izō. Compare Ancient Greek δαιμονίζομαι (daimonízomai, “to be possessed by a demon”), from δαίμων (daímōn, “demon”). By surface analysis, demon + -ize.
Forms
demonizes demonizing demonized demonise daemonise daemonize dæmonize
Derived
dedemonize demonizable demonization demonizer redemonize undemonized