embody
Americanverb (used with object)
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to give a concrete form to; express, personify, or exemplify in concrete form.
to embody an idea in an allegorical painting.
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to provide with a body incarnate; make corporeal.
to embody a spirit.
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to collect into or include in a body; organize; incorporate.
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to embrace or comprise.
verb
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to give a tangible, bodily, or concrete form to (an abstract concept)
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to be an example of or express (an idea, principle, etc), esp in action
his gentleness embodies a Christian ideal
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(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
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to invest (a spiritual entity) with a body or with bodily form; render incarnate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have embodiedperfect
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am embodyingprogressive 1st person singular
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has embodiedperfect 3rd person singular
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are embodyingprogressive
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is embodyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been embodyingperfect progressive
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has been embodyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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embodyingparticiple
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embodiessingular 3rd person
Past
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had embodiedperfect
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was embodyingprogressive singular
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embodiedparticiple
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had been embodyingperfect progressive
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embodiedsimple
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were embodyingprogressive plural
Future
Etymology
Origin of embody
Explanation
To embody a role is to fill it completely. If a high schooler seems to embody the character of Macbeth, his performance might make the audience forget they're watching a dorky 15-year-old with braces. If you embody someone, you put him or her "in-body," as when an actor gives a complete and compelling representation of a character. You can also use embody to describe character traits you see in a person, like, “He embodies truth,” or, “She is the embodiment of goodness.”
Vocabulary lists containing embody
100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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Vocabulary from "Stop Expecting Games to Build Empathy" by Julie Muncy
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Content Summary G.2: Regionalization
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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.
His failures were many and spectacular, but in 1940, as Britain fought alone against Hitler’s Germany, he drew on a lifetime’s writing about greatness to embody it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Instead, Mahan’s candidacy was more like Pets.com, a famous e-commerce flop that came to embody the heedless froth of the dot.com bubble.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
Presidents not only symbolize and embody the values of the nation — they reveal them.
From Salon • Jun. 2, 2026
Another reason why your Marathon Man is a formidable way to visualize your financial future: He must embody all of your experience.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
For a moment I was disoriented, seized by panic; could a ghost embody itself through wavelengths, electronic dots, a picture tube?
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
