Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ANTHROPOMORPHIC
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pronounce
ANTHROPOMORPHIC:
Say it "AN thruh puh MORE fick."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
A high five to Joel for reminding me that we should take a look at the word anthropomorphic!
Let's place it in a mental category that includes philanthropic ("people-loving") and anthropocentric ("people-centered").
And misanthropic. Can you define that one? Hint: if you're misanthropic, you might be tempted to mark your yard with this sign.
definition:
Our word "anthropomorphic" has Greek roots that mean "human-formed." It's been around in English since about 1802.
Something anthropomorphic is human-like, but not human. For example, the character above, Arthur, is anthropomorphic. He's an aardvark, but you can barely tell: he walks, talks, acts, and dresses like a human.
More abstractly, something anthropomorphic involves giving human traits to things that aren't human, like plants, animals, and objects.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "anthropomorphic animals," "all the characters were anthropomorphic."
Other forms:
There are several alternate adjectives: "anthropomorphical," "anthropomorphous," and "anthropomorphological." But I recommend sticking with the more common "anthropomorphic."
Unless, of course, you need a hilarious-sounding, way-too-long version: in that case, say "anthropomorphological." Eight syllables, y'all! Eight!
The adverb is "anthropomorphically," as in, "We view these ant colonies anthropomorphically."
The noun is "anthropomorphism," as in, "Their analysis is riddled with anthropomorphism."
And there's a verb, which is more useful than you might think! If you anthropomorphize, or if you anthropomorphize something, you're giving it human traits that it really doesn't have. "Please stop anthropomorphizing your computer. No, it is not in a bad mood. It is incapable of being in any mood."
how to use it:
This fun-to-say word has a critical tone, since it's often silly, childish, or misguided to treat non-human things as if they were human.
And, because this word is long, clunky, and academic, you can make it sound serious or ridiculous.
You might talk about anthropomorphic animals or characters, especially in books, comics, shows, and movies--you know, the kind that speak English, wear blue jeans, and eat spaghetti. Or, you might talk about anthropomorphic faces, shapes, bodies, figures, images, etc.
To get more abstract, you can talk about anthropomorphic views, perspectives, or errors in thinking--and, especially, anthropomorphic terms, words, labels, phrases, and language. "I admit I speak of my car in anthropomorphic terms: 'she's thirsty,' 'she's all dolled up and ready to go out,' 'she ate a ton of gnats and now she needs a bath.'"
What's the difference between anthropomorphizing something and simply personifying it? Well, there's plenty of overlap, and you could argue that they're the exact same thing, by definition. I'd say that personification is more of a poetic thing. When Kaylee, the spaceship mechanic, calls her ship a "she" and says "She usually tells me when something's wrong," I say Kaylee's personifying the ship. But if you say she's anthropomorphizing the ship, I would agree with you.
"I'm Kaylee, and this here's Serenity, and she's the smoothest ride from here to Boros for anyone can pay."
examples:
"...The wholesome video game [Animal Crossing], in which one plays a human living among adorable anthropomorphic creatures like bear cubs and deer."
— Isabel Slone, New York Times, 10 March 2020
"The God of those days was anthropomorphic, a god of battles, a leader, a fighter: the friend of our friends, but the foe to our foes."
— William Babington Maxwell, Mrs. Thompson, 1922
has this page helped you understand "anthropomorphic"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "anthropomorphic" without saying "person-shaped" or "assumed to have human qualities."
try it out:
As we've seen, I talk about my car anthropomorphically. Kaylee talks about her spaceship anthropomorphically.
And in the two examples below, people are talking anthropomorphically about cactuses and the Mars rover:
1. "The cactuses are typically described in anthropomorphic terms: the outstretched branches are 'arms'; the bare spines, 'ribs'; and the 'skeletons' of saguaros that died, evidently of natural causes. It's easy to see why Arizona's Tohono O'odham tribe believe saguaros have spirits."
— Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times, 26 February 2020
2. "He talked about [the Mars rover named] Opportunity in anthropomorphic terms, explaining how without enough power, 'she goes back to sleep,' and comparing its exploits with the travels of a favorite adventurous cousin."
— Rebeccca Boyle, Scientific American, 31 January 2019
With all these examples in mind, talk anthropomorphically about some other object, plant, or animal that interests you.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is "Faces & Feelings."
If the word you're studying were a facial expression, what would it look like? Maybe one of the seven universal facial expressions, the ones identified by the psychologist Paul Ekman.
In each issue, take a handful of words and assign each to an emotion it inspires. I'll list my answers at the bottom of each issue. Yours might be different from mine, which is okay--words, and emotions, are complex and personal! The goal here is just to interact with our words, to tie them more securely into memory by connecting them to emotion and to the face.
Try this set today. Match each face on the left to a term on the right:
hackneyed
haggard
hair-trigger
halcyon
harangue
harrowing
hegemony
review this word:
A. HUMANE.
B. HUMANISH.
C. DEHUMANIZED.
2. As I've mentioned before (when we looked at the word simulacrum), when _____ is so anthropomorphic that it gives us a shiver of disgust, we're experiencing the uncanny valley effect.
A. an insect or a mouse
B. a doll or a robot
C. a cluster of spots or holes
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
A high five to Joel for reminding me that we should take a look at the word anthropomorphic!
Our word "anthropomorphic" has Greek roots that mean "human-formed." It's been around in English since about 1802.
Part of speech:
This fun-to-say word has a critical tone, since it's often silly, childish, or misguided to treat non-human things as if they were human.
"...The wholesome video game [Animal Crossing], in which one plays a human living among adorable anthropomorphic creatures like bear cubs and deer."
Explain the meaning of "anthropomorphic" without saying "person-shaped" or "assumed to have human qualities."
As we've seen, I talk about my car anthropomorphically. Kaylee talks about her spaceship anthropomorphically.
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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