edify
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonedifiedadjective
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edifyingadjective
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edifyinglyadverb
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edifiernoun
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unedifiedadjective
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reedifyverb (used with object)
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has edifiedperfect 3rd person singular
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have edifiedperfect
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has been edifyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been edifyingperfect progressive
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edifiessingular 3rd person
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am edifyingprogressive 1st person singular
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are edifyingprogressive
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is edifyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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edifyingparticiple
Past
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had edifiedperfect
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were edifyingprogressive plural
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was edifyingprogressive singular
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had been edifyingperfect progressive
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edifiedsimple
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edifiedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of edify
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English edifien, from Anglo-French, Old French edifier, from Latin aedificāre “to build,” equivalent to aedi- (stem of aedes ) “house, temple” + -ficāre -fy
Explanation
To edify is to help someone understand, whether it is books that edify those who want to learn a new language, or the explanations that hang beside paintings at a museum that edify visitors who aren't familiar with the artist. If you know that the noun edifice is a synonym for building, you may wonder what the related verb edify has to do with understanding. You can think of something that edifies as the building blocks of what might become a lifelong interest, like an elementary school teacher who edifies the student who becomes an Abraham Lincoln scholar, or an activity you eventually master, like the beginners' lessons that edify new ice skaters.
Vocabulary lists containing edify
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s built upon Edify, an AI model from Nvidia’s generative AI division Picasso.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 2, 2023
Edify means to build; it has, therefore, the sense of uplift, improvement—usually moral, or spiritual.
From Write It Right A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults by Bierce, Ambrose
Edify, ed′i-fī, v.t. to build: to build up the faith of: to strengthen spiritually towards faith and holiness: to comfort: to improve the mind:—pr.p. ed′ifying; pa.p. ed′ified.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
