commodify
See also: commoditize
English
Etymology
Etymology tree
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /kəˈmɒ.dɪ.faɪ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /kəˈmɑ.dɪ.faɪ/
Audio (US): (file)
Verb
commodify (third-person singular simple present commodifies, present participle commodifying, simple past and past participle commodified)
- (transitive) 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[1]:
- […] it's only in America that a lovely feeling such as hope can be commodified so expertly, so cynically.
- 2010 January, Michael Löwy, “Advertising Is a “Serious Health Threat”—to the Environment”, in Monthly Review, volume 6, number 8, →ISSN, page 21:
- 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.
- 2011 June 9, Maria Popova, “In a New Book, Food and Sensuality Become Art”, in James Bennet, editor, The Atlantic[2], Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 August 2025:
- 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.
- 2023 June 21, A. O. Scott, “Everyone Likes Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It?”, in The New York Times Book Review[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 9 November 2025:
- 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.
- 2025 September 14, Alexander Nazaryan, “‘Freedom’ Shirt Becomes a Meme and an Instant Commodity”, in The New York Times[4], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
- 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.
Usage notes
Sometimes used interchangeably with commoditize, sometimes distinguished to have a sense of “non-commercial good becoming commercial”; see usage notes at commoditize.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to make something a commodity
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Further reading
commodification on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Categories:
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰeh₁-
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *ḱe
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *med-
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *ḱóm
- English terms suffixed with -ify
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