decivilize means to make less civilized. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
decivilize is pronounced /diːˈsɪvɪlaɪz/.
Why “decivilize” is a great word
DECIVILIZE — [Verb] To reduce or cause to revert from a civilized state. Formed within English from the prefix de- (indicating reversal or removal) and the verb civilize (to bring to an advanced state of social development). First attested in the mid-19th century (a1859). Unlike "barbarize," which implies an active imposition of crudeness, or "regress," a broad retreat from any advancement, "decivilize" describes the specific, often passive, erosion of accumulated order. It is the library book forgotten to mildew, the paved road gradually reclaimed by weeds, and the polite convention abandoned first for convenience—a slow-motion subtraction where what was built up simply drains away, capturing not the arrival of barbarism but the chilling departure of everything that once kept it at bay.
Etymology
From de- + civilize.
verb
- To make less civilized.“Are we not in fact dicivilizing ourselves as we decivilize them? Why is there no outcry? Is it because we have cast off the delusion of human sanctity?”
- To become less civilized.“Or how beings such as ourselves—such as you now are— with lifespans measured in centuries and strength and endurance far beyond that of Terra- born humans, could decivilize so utterly?”