commodify
verbUK /kəˈmɒ.dɪ.faɪ/ · US /kəˈmɑ.dɪ.faɪ/
Etymology From commodity + -ify.
1
To make something into a commodity, sometimes at the expense of its intrinsic value.
- […2009 January 17, John R. MacArthur, “Hope as a commodity”, in Toronto Star:
- As capitalism, especially in its current neoliberal and globalized form, seeks to commodify the world, to transform everything existing—earth, water, air, living creatures, the human body, human relationships, love, religion—into commodities, so advertising aims to sell those commodities by forcing living individuals to serve the commercial necessities of capital.2010 January, Michael Löwy, “Advertising Is a “Serious Health Threat”—to the Environment”, in Monthly Review, volume 6, number 8, →ISSN, page 21:
3 more examples
- With over 160 lavish full-color images, 20 mouth-watering recipes, and 40 essays on food, love, and life, La Figa is a genuine treat for the senses and an invitation to approach something that's been overly functionalized and commodified with a little bit more playfulness, poignancy, and poetry.2011 June 9, Maria Popova, “In a New Book, Food and Sensuality Become Art”, in The Atlantic:
- Our attention spans have been chopped up and commodified, sold off piecemeal to platforms and algorithms. We’re too busy, too lazy, too preoccupied to lose ourselves in books.2023 June 21, A. O. Scott, “Everyone Likes Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- The T-shirt is white, with a simple message, “Freedom,” rendered in plain black letters across the chest. It’s also now widely available for sale, indicative of an internet culture that instantaneously commodifies any significant event.2025 September 14, Alexander Nazaryan, “‘Freedom’ Shirt Becomes a Meme and an Instant Commodity”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
- Synonyms
- commercialize, commoditize
- Derived terms
- commodifiability, commodifiable, commodification, commodificational, commodifier, recommodify
- Related terms
- decommodify