personification

American  

[per-son-uh-fi-key-shuhn] / pərˌsɒn ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.

2. the representation of a thing or abstraction in the form of a person, as in art.

3. the person or thing embodying a quality or the like; an embodiment or incarnation.

   He is the personification of tact.

4. an imaginary person or creature conceived or figured to represent a thing or abstraction.

5. the act of personifying; the attributing of human qualities to an animal, object, or abstraction.

   The author's personification of the farm animals made for an enchanting children's book.

6. a character portrayal or representation in a dramatic or literary work.

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personification British  

/ pɜːˌsɒnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the attribution of human characteristics to things, abstract ideas, etc, as for literary or artistic effect

2. the representation of an abstract quality or idea in the form of a person, creature, etc, as in art and literature

3. a person or thing that personifies

4. a person or thing regarded as an embodiment of a quality

   he is the personification of optimism

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpersonification
  noun
• personificator
  noun

Etymology

Origin of personification

First recorded in 1745–55; personi(fy) + -fication

Explanation

Personification means "giving human qualities to an abstract idea," as in a movie villain who is the personification of evil. You can use the noun personification in two ways. In the first, a person who is known for a certain quality, like wisdom, is said to represent that quality in a way any can understand, like a patient, generous person who is the personification of kindness. On the other hand, personification can give human qualities to something that isn’t human. For example, you might say, “The sea is angry,” assigning it a human emotion.

Example Sentences

Personification: giving an inanimate or nonhuman object human characteristics to make it seem alive and relatable.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Who is the contemporary Personification of the Spirit of America?

From Time Magazine Archive

Drys, Consolidated, last week nominated the "Personification of Prohibition,"* Mrs. Mabel Elizabeth Walker Willebrandt, Assistant Attorney General, to take charge of enforcement following its projected transfer from the Treasury to the Department of Justice.

From Time Magazine Archive

Personification and periphrasis were their favorite mannerisms: Collins's Odes were largely addressed to abstractions, such as Fear, Pity, Liberty, Mercy, and Simplicity.

From Brief History of English and American Literature by Beers, Henry A. (Henry Augustin)

Personification of the operations of nature worshipped, 601-m.

From Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry by Pike, Albert