personification
the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.
the representation of a thing or abstraction in the form of a person, as in art.
the person or thing embodying a quality or the like; an embodiment or incarnation: He is the personification of tact.
an imaginary person or creature conceived or figured to represent a thing or abstraction.
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.
a character portrayal or representation in a dramatic or literary work.
Origin of personification
1Other words from personification
- per·son·i·fi·ca·tor, noun
- non·per·son·i·fi·ca·tion, noun
Words Nearby personification
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use personification in a sentence
In the historical scheme of things, Nidhogg was possibly the personification of the ever-present evil or chaotic force that seemed to affect and influence humans.
20 Fascinating Creatures of Norse Mythology | Dattatreya Mandal | November 2, 2022 | Realm of HistoryEssentially, Eriu serves as the modern personification of Ireland.
15 Powerful Ancient Celtic Gods and Goddesses | Dattatreya Mandal | June 24, 2022 | Realm of HistoryThere may or may not be a Ouija board on the sideline to explain the team’s seeming allergy to ordinary outcomes, and every Friars game has somehow felt like the personification of Friar Dom’s sitting face.
How Far Can Luck Take A Team? Watch Providence To Find Out. | Josh Planos | March 10, 2022 | FiveThirtyEightIf anything, Sebastian seemed to be the personification of anxiety — an obsessive thought circling the mind on a loop.
My doctor told me to get a dog, but I couldn’t. Meet my emotional support fish. | Will Dowd | October 7, 2021 | Washington PostWith “no-good dirty Commies” decommissioned since the 1990s, screenwriters and studio executives tried their best to find convincing personifications of pure evil that would not perpetuate noxious stereotypes or hoary cliches.
While Hollywood looked for perfect villains, they were hiding in plain sight | Ann Hornaday | January 15, 2021 | Washington Post
Blues with a country beat, the fusion of black and white, had found its personification in Elvis.
Throughout Fault in Our Stars, Gus is the personification of strength and confidence.
Ranking the Saddest Scenes in ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ | Kevin Fallon | June 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn 1968, Ted Nugent was a lightning rod, a personification of transformational freedom.
Quell is a feral creature; a personification of the Freudian id.
Why Joaquin Phoenix, Who Wows in ‘Her,’ Is the Greatest Actor Alive | Marlow Stern | December 14, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTLoud, overbearing, and unseemly, he is the very personification of the human id in a mock turtleneck and gold chain.
‘Ray Donovan’: Is the Liev Schreiber–Led Showtime Drama The Next ‘Sopranos’? | Jace Lacob | June 28, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTChaucer probably found this name precisely where he found his personification of Pity, viz.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems | Geoffrey ChaucerI had at first thought it might be "rumorous eyes;" but the personification would then be wanting.
Cyrano, who put to flight one hundred men, could not be expected to fear a person, much less a personification.
Cyrano de Bergerac | Edmond RostandThen she moved away to the music, an exquisite figure, the personification of all that was alluring in her sex.
The Double Four | E. Phillips OppenheimWhile some are held up as models of virtue, others may be regarded as the very personification of evil.
Charles Duran | The Author of The Waldos
British Dictionary definitions for personification
/ (pɜːˌsɒnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən) /
the attribution of human characteristics to things, abstract ideas, etc, as for literary or artistic effect
the representation of an abstract quality or idea in the form of a person, creature, etc, as in art and literature
a person or thing that personifies
a person or thing regarded as an embodiment of a quality: he is the personification of optimism
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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