Anthropomorphism

//ˌænθɹəpəˈmɔɹfɪzəm// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The attribution of human characteristics and behavior to something nonhuman. countable, uncountable

    "Literature is full of examples of anthropomorphism, especially in children’s stories, from The Wind in the Willows to Watership Down."

  2. 2
    the representation of objects (especially a god) as having human form or traits wordnet
  3. 3
    The attribution of human characteristics to divine entities. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
acosmismallotheismanthropolatryanthropopathismanthropotheismautotheism

Example

More examples

"I read the article "Animism and perspectivism: Still anthropomorphism? On the problem of perception in the construction of Amerindian ontologies.""

Etymology

Coined in the mid-1700s. From Ancient Greek ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos, “man, human”) and μορφή (morphḗ, “form, shape”). By surface analysis, anthropo- + -morphism.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.