monsterization

English

Etymology

From monster +‎ -ization.

Noun

monsterization (plural monsterizations)

1. The transformation of something or someone into a monster, either literally or figuratively.
   • 1999, Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Of giants: sex, monsters, and the Middle Ages, page 132

     A similar but less spectacular technology of monsterization propels the representation of Islam in England, where the "Saracen threat" never encroached and therefore was always in danger of seeming fantastic and remote.

   • 2003, Belinda Morrissey, When women kill: questions of agency and subjectivity, page 25

     Vilification/monsterization denies agency by insisting upon the evil nature of the murderess, thus causing her to lose

   • 2006, Michael Finkel, True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa

     “I'd admit the past & monsterize myself in the eyes of the jury,” he wrote. “I would try to be emotionless, to add credibility to that monsterization.

Synonyms

• demonization
• vilification

Related terms

• monsterise
• monsterize