English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Coined in the mid-1700s. From Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “man, human being”) and μορφή (morphḗ, “form, shape”).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌænθɹəpəˈmɔɹfɪzəm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun[edit]

anthropomorphism (countable and uncountable, plural anthropomorphisms)

1. The attribution of human characteristics and behavior to something not human. [from mid-18th c.]
2. (theology) The attribution of human characteristics to divine beings.

Usage notes[edit]

Despite the similarity in meaning, this term carries very different connotations when used in different contexts. In literature, anthropomorphism describes merely a device of fiction writing, whereas in science (particularly biology) anthropomorphism has traditionally been used pejoratively when a scientist appears to be attributing to animals characteristics that are assumed to be exclusive to human beings.

Antonyms[edit]

• dehumanization

Coordinate terms[edit]

• humanization
• personification
• prosopopoeia

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

• anthropomorphic
• anthropomorphically

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

• zoomorphism
• kemonomimi
• nahualism

Further reading[edit]

• anthropomorphism on Wikipedia.Wikipedia