anthropomorphic

American  

[an-thruh-puh-mawr-fik] / ˌæn θrə pəˈmɔr fɪk /

Also anthropomorphous

adjective

1. ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human, especially to a deity: Children especially love anthropomorphic tales where talking animal friends have exciting adventures.

   Much has been written on the anthropomorphic qualities of the God of the Hebrew Scriptures.

   Children especially love anthropomorphic tales where talking animal friends have exciting adventures.

2. resembling or made to resemble a human form.

   an anthropomorphic carving.

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anthropomorphic British  

/ ˌænθrəpəˈmɔːfɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to anthropomorphism

2. resembling the human form

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Other Word Forms

• anthropomorph noun
• anthropomorphically adverb
• anthropomorphously adverb

Etymology

Origin of anthropomorphic

First recorded in 1820–30; anthropo- + -morphic

Explanation

Your favorite TV shows when you were a toddler probably had anthropomorphic characters like Thomas the Tank Engine or Arthur, who are non-human, but have human characteristics, such as human faces and the ability to talk. You may have heard of anthropology, the study of human beings. Like anthropomorphic, it derives from the Greek word anthrōposi, which means "human being." One thing human beings like to do is anthropomorphize animals and inanimate objects. If that sounds fancy, just think about a kindergarten student putting a smiley face on his drawing of a sun.

Example Sentences

Animated Australian sensation “Bluey” has arrived in Disneyland, and the titular anthropomorphic pastel-coated canine has come ready to play.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026

Other anthropomorphic measures -- including waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and waist-to-hip ratio -- can provide additional insight by distinguishing fat mass from muscle and identifying abdominal fat linked to disease risk.

From Science Daily • Dec. 31, 2025

After all, AI-generated videos of anthropomorphic animals and factually incorrect chatbot responses are not what AI is about in the long run, Chan said.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025

There’s an obvious objection to all this: It sounds as if we’re naively personifying a giant math problem, mistaking statistical patterns for sentience—falling for the oldest anthropomorphic error in the book.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 25, 2025

Serapis was an amalgam of Apis, the native bull god, and Osiris, the anthropomorphic lord of the dead—an instant “designer god” fashioned by the Ptolemies to give Greeks and Egyptians a deity in common.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro

Related Words

• humanlike