epitome
Americannoun
-
a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class.
He is the epitome of goodness.
- Synonyms:
- quintessence, typification, model, exemplification, embodiment
-
a condensed account, especially of a literary work; abstract.
noun
-
a typical example of a characteristic or class; embodiment; personification
he is the epitome of sloth
-
a summary of a written work; abstract
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of epitome
First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin epitomē “abridgment,” from Greek epitomḗ “abridgment, surface incision,” equivalent to epi- + -tome
Explanation
If you're talking about a typical example of something, call it the epitome. The cartoon character Garfield is the epitome of the lazy, food-obsessed cat. Coming to us from Greek through Latin, epitome refers to something that is the ultimate representative of its class. Are you the epitome of the hard-working student or do you believe in study in moderation? Make sure you pronounce epitome with the accent on the second syllable (uh-PIH-tuh-mee).
Vocabulary lists containing epitome
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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Sapiens
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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 latest work, History of the World in Epitome, is an eleven-page, bite-sized pamphlet published by London's oddball Gaberbocchus Press.
From Time Magazine Archive
These combined serious poems with miners' correspondence, frontier burlesque and tall tales with such polished articles as "An Epitome of Goethe's Faust," pirated novels such as Bleak House with condensed news columns called "Eastern intelligence."
From Time Magazine Archive
Epitome of the day's procedure was his royal arising, witnessed daily by some 300 fawning souls.
From Time Magazine Archive
In 1621 Kepler published the second part of his Epitome of Copernican Astronomy.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Although Regiomontanus died in 1476, the Epitome was not published for another twenty years, when it set the young Copernicus thinking.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
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.
