Entmenschlicht

Entmenschlicht is a German adjective and past participle meaning dehumanized or made inhuman. It derives from ent- (a prefix indicating removal or negation) and Mensch (human), and is used to describe actions, processes, or representations that deny or strip away human qualities such as autonomy, dignity, or empathy.

In discourse from sociology, political theory, ethics, and media studies, entmenschlicht refers to practices that treat people as objects or as means rather than as ends. It can describe state, bureaucratic, or organizational procedures, as well as rhetorical or visual representations that deny subjectivity to individuals or groups. The noun form for the process is Entmenschlichung, while Dehumanisierung is the more common term in some contexts; entmenschlichung emphasizes process, entmenschlicht emphasizes the resulting state or action.

Common contexts include: administrative bureaucratic systems that reduce individuals to data points; propaganda or stigmatization that strips group members of agency; or technologies and algorithms that operate without human-centric considerations.

It is used in both critical analysis and journalism to condemn practices that neglect human dignity or agency. See also dehumanization, Entmenschlichung, Menschlichkeit.