embody

[ em-bod-ee ]

verb (used with object)

, em·bod·ied, em·bod·y·ing.

1. to give a concrete form to; express, personify, or exemplify in concrete form:

   to embody an idea in an allegorical painting.

2. to provide with a body incarnate; make corporeal:

   to embody a spirit.

3. to collect into or include in a body; organize; incorporate.
4. to embrace or comprise.

embody

/ ɪmˈbɒdɪ /

verb

1. to give a tangible, bodily, or concrete form to (an abstract concept)
2. to be an example of or express (an idea, principle, etc), esp in action

   his gentleness embodies a Christian ideal

3. often foll by in to collect or unite in a comprehensive whole, system, etc; comprise; include

   all the different essays were embodied in one long article

4. to invest (a spiritual entity) with a body or with bodily form; render incarnate

Derived Forms

• emˈbodiment, noun

Other Words From

• em·bod·i·er noun
• pre·em·bod·y verb (used with object) preembodied preembodying
• re·em·bod·y verb (used with object) reembodied reembodying

Word History and Origins

Origin of embody¹

First recorded in 1540–50; em- ¹ + body

Example Sentences

Rambeau completely embodies the spirit of Captain Marvel with her commanding presence and that’s why Parris’ portrayal of her has so rapidly grabbed the attention of viewers week after week.

From Essence.com

That’s also a very sexy trope that girls don’t necessarily get to embody.

From Vox

In the dark days of the Second World War, he fought for freedom, and in the face of the country’s deepest postwar crisis, he united us all, he cheered us all up, and he embodied the triumph of the human spirit.

From Washington Post

Instead of worrying about her own pain or concerns, she explains that this connection to Jennifer and the chance to embody the action of giving helped her get out of her own head and into her heart.

From Time

Both species, he insists, are singularly embodied in Vladimir Putin.

From Time

Long before rehearsals began, Sharp started to embody Christopher.

From The Daily Beast

When it came to casting Escobar, Di Stefano had to find a strong actor who could embody the brutality of the late kingpin.

From The Daily Beast

It was oh-so subtle, but he began to embody his grandfather and his father.

From The Daily Beast

We can never know the degree to which these women actively choose to embody this ideal, or how “real” it may or may not be.

From The Daily Beast

Without the tension between good and evil—and without protagonists to embody that moral polarity—a lesser show would go slack.

From The Daily Beast

How much of the imagination, how much of the intellect, evaporates and is lost while we seek to embody it in words!

From Project Gutenberg

They embody in themselves the uppermost thought of the era that was dawning when they were written.

From Project Gutenberg

The "principles of 1907" embody the doctrine of a mutual obligation between the individual and the community.

From Project Gutenberg

Stated, it reads: All persons who embody noble thoughts in verse form are poets.

From Project Gutenberg

That widespread enchantment seemed to concentre and embody itself mysteriously in her; she became its living manifestation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• demonstrate
• epitomize
• exemplify
• exhibit
• express
• illustrate
• incorporate
• manifest
• mirror
• personify
• realize
• stand for
• symbolize
• typify