exploitation
Americannoun
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use or utilization, especially for profit.
the exploitation of newly discovered oil fields.
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selfish utilization.
He got ahead through the exploitation of his friends.
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the combined, often varied, use of public-relations and advertising techniques to promote a person, movie, product, etc.
Usage
What does exploitation mean? Exploitation is the act of selfishly taking advantage of someone or a group of people in order to profit from them or otherwise benefit oneself.Exploitation is a noun form of the verb exploit, which commonly means to take advantage in such a way. The adjective form is exploitative, as in exploitative practices. As a verb, exploit can also be used in a more neutral way that doesn’t imply selfishness: to make the best use of something, especially an opportunity, or to create a profit or other benefit. But when the verb is applied to people, it is always used negatively.Exploitation can also be used in a way that means the use of something, especially for profit, as in Since we have these resources, we should make sure that the exploitation of them maximizes revenue. Still, exploitation is most commonly used in a negative way. One phrase in which it has this negative sense is exploitation film, a low-budget movie characterized by extreme violence, excessive gore, gratuitous sex, or other content meant to shock, disgust, or titillate.The related term blaxploitation refers to the exploitation of Black people and stereotypes about them, especially in movies featuring or intending to appeal to Black people.Example: The exploitation of workers to maximize profit is sadly widespread.
Other Word Forms
- exploitational adjective
- exploitationally adverb
- nonexploitation noun
- overexploitation noun
Etymology
Origin of exploitation
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.
He praised John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” for its descriptions of capitalist exploitation and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” for the light it shed on slavery in the U.S.
Musk, who has said he is committed to preventing child exploitation, announced in January that the company would limit the image-generation and editing tools to paying customers.
The kids took to TikTok and Instagram to dissect every awful thing Banks and the rest did in the name of goosing ratings, with many wondering why its audience barely blinked at its endless exploitation.
From Salon
The force said there had been significant improvements in how it identifies and investigates group-based offending, including training for 23,000 front-line officers and the expansion of its child exploitation teams.
From BBC
"I call for an end to this absolutely despicable exploitation of the tragedy that took place last Thursday evening in Lyon, for which France Unbowed bears absolutely no responsibility," he told reporters.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
