anthropomorphize, v.
(-ˈmɔːfaɪz)
[f. Gr. ἀνθρωπόµορϕ-ος + -ize.]
1. trans. To render, or regard as, anthropomorphous; to attribute a human form or personality to.
| 1845 Ford Hand-bk. Spain 107 The Deity was anthropomorphised. 1847 Blackw. Mag. LXI. 440 We spiritualise the material universe, and afterwards..anthropomorphise spirit. |
2. absol.
| 1858 Lewes Seaside Stud. 365 Our tendency to anthropomorphise..causes us to interpret the actions of animals according to the analogy of human nature. 1870 Lowell Among my Bks. i. (1873) 86 You may see imaginative children every day anthropomorphizing in this way. |