Russian Translation(s) & Details for 'dehumanize'

English Word: dehumanize

Key Russian Translations:

• обезчеловечивать (/ɐbʲɪzʲtɕɪləvʲeʧʲɪvɐtʲ/) - [Formal, used in serious discussions or academic contexts]
• обезличивать (/ɐbʲɪzʲlʲitɕɪvɐtʲ/) - [Informal, often in everyday conversations about emotional detachment]

Frequency: Low (This term is not commonly used in everyday Russian speech; it's more prevalent in literature, psychology, or philosophical discussions.)

Difficulty: C1 (Advanced; requires familiarity with complex verb conjugations and abstract concepts. For 'обезчеловечивать', it's C1 due to its formal nature; 'обезличивать' might be B2 for intermediate learners.)

Pronunciation (Russian):

обезчеловечивать: /ɐbʲɪzʲtɕɪləvʲeʧʲɪvɐtʲ/

обезличивать: /ɐbʲɪzʲlʲitɕɪvɐtʲ/

Note on обезчеловечивать: The pronunciation involves a soft 'ч' sound, which can be challenging for English speakers; it's similar to the 'ch' in 'church' but softer. Stress falls on the fourth syllable.

Audio: []

Meanings and Usage:

To deprive someone or something of human qualities, making them seem less than human.

Translation(s) & Context:

• обезчеловечивать - Used in formal contexts, such as discussions about war or technology's impact on society.
• обезличивать - Applied in informal settings, like personal relationships or media criticism.

Usage Examples:

• Война может обезчеловечивать солдат, превращая их в машины для убийства.

  War can dehumanize soldiers, turning them into killing machines.

• Социальные сети часто обезличивают людей, фокусируясь только на поверхностных профилях.

  Social media often dehumanizes people by focusing only on superficial profiles.

• Обезчеловечивание в литературе помогает показать жестокость тоталитарных режимов.

  Dehumanization in literature helps illustrate the cruelty of totalitarian regimes.

• Иногда работа в офисе может обезличивать сотрудников, делая их частью бездушной системы.

  Sometimes office work can dehumanize employees, turning them into part of a soulless system.

• Обезличивание в искусстве часто используется для критики современной культуры.

  Dehumanization in art is often used to critique modern culture.

Russian Forms/Inflections:

Both 'обезчеловечивать' and 'обезличивать' are imperfective verbs in Russian, which means they describe ongoing or repeated actions. Russian verbs follow complex conjugation patterns based on tense, aspect, person, and number. These verbs are irregular in some forms due to their prefixes.

For 'обезчеловечивать' (to dehumanize - imperfective):

For 'обезличивать', the inflections are similar but slightly simpler in the present tense due to its structure:

These verbs do not change in gender or number in the infinitive form but must agree in person and tense as shown.

Russian Synonyms/Antonyms:

• Synonyms:
  • обесчеловечивать (similar but less common, emphasizes complete loss of humanity)
  • дегуманизировать (a direct borrowing, used in technical contexts with a slight nuance of modernization)
• Antonyms:
  • очеловечивать (to humanize or make more human)
  • гуманизировать (to make more humane, often in social or ethical contexts)

Related Phrases:

• Обезчеловечивание общества - (Dehumanization of society; refers to the loss of human values in modern life.)
• Обезличивать через технологии - (To dehumanize through technology; common in discussions about digital isolation.)
• Процесс обезчеловечивания - (The process of dehumanization; used in psychological or historical analyses.)

Usage Notes:

'Обезчеловечивать' is the most direct equivalent to 'dehumanize' in formal Russian, often used in contexts like ethics, politics, or literature. It implies a profound and often irreversible change, so choose it for serious topics. 'Обезличивать' is milder and more informal, suitable for everyday conversations about emotional distance. Be mindful of aspect: these are imperfective verbs, so they describe ongoing processes. In Russian, verbs must agree with the subject in person and number, which can be tricky for English speakers used to less inflection.

• When translating 'dehumanize', consider the context: formal vs. informal to select the appropriate word.
• Avoid direct word-for-word translation; integrate into natural Russian sentence structures.

Common Errors:

English learners often misuse the aspect by treating 'обезчеловечивать' as a perfective verb, saying something like "Я обезчеловечивал его" incorrectly for a completed action. Correct usage: Use the imperfective for ongoing actions and pair with perfective forms if needed, e.g., "обезчеловечить" for a one-time event. Another error is confusing it with 'обесчеловечивать', which is less standard—stick to 'обезчеловечивать' for accuracy. For example:

• Incorrect: Я обезличиваю людей быстро. (Implies completion incorrectly.)
• Correct: Я обезличиваю людей в повседневной жизни. (Shows ongoing process.)

Cultural Notes:

In Russian culture, terms like 'обезчеловечивать' often appear in discussions of historical events, such as the Soviet era or World War II, where dehumanization was a tool of propaganda. This reflects a broader cultural emphasis on collective humanity and the dangers of individualism or totalitarianism, helping users understand the word's emotional weight in Russian literature and media.

Related Concepts:

• гуманизм (humanism)
• дегуманизация (dehumanization, a borrowed term)
• очеловечение (humanization)