commodify

American

[kuh-mod-uh-fahy] / kəˈmɒd əˌfaɪ /

Also commoditize

verb (used with object)

commodified, commodifying

to turn into a commodity; make commercial.
to treat as if a commodity.

commodify British

/ kəˈmɒdɪˌfaɪ /

verb

(tr) to treat (something) inappropriately as if it can be acquired or marketed like other commodities

you can't commodify art

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

commodifiable adjective
commodification noun

Etymology

Origin of commodify

First recorded in 1975–80; commod(ity) ( def. ) + -ify ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We hadn’t really figured out yet how damaging it might be to take an in infant and follow his entire life and commodify it as though he was our own.

From Los Angeles Times

The Guardian's Marina Hyde said Brooklyn had been "commodified" since before he was born, with his parents selling pictures and stories from as early as Victoria's pregnancy.

From BBC

“Maybe the hotel industry will finally start paying attention and realize they can’t commodify privacy,” she said, “because people will just take their money and their travel budget to hotels that still have bathroom doors.”

From The Wall Street Journal

"It's driven by this desire to make money out of this – the more likes people can get the more they can possibly commodify the photography they're getting in these places", Garrett said.

From BBC

We live in an age when morality is commodified.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023