To cause someone to lose their individual identity or sense of self, often through absorption into a larger group.
From 'de-' (reversal) plus 'individualize', from Latin 'individuus'. Developed as a psychological term in mid-20th century research on group behavior and social psychology.
Military boot camp deliberately tries to deindividualize recruits by removing personal items and using identical uniforms—it's a systematic erasure of identity to create unit cohesion.
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