exemplify
Americanverb (used with object)
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exemplifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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exemplified,
past participle, past
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exemplifying
present participle
verb
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to show by example
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to serve as an example of
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law
-
to make an official copy of (a document from public records) under seal
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to transcribe (a legal document)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exemplifysimple
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exemplifiessimple
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have exemplifiedperfect
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has exemplifiedperfect
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am exemplifyingprogressive
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are exemplifyingprogressive
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is exemplifyingprogressive
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have been exemplifyingperfect progressive
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has been exemplifyingperfect progressive
Past
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exemplifiedsimple
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had exemplifiedperfect
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was exemplifyingprogressive
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were exemplifyingprogressive
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had been exemplifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exemplify
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English exemplifien, from Middle French exemplifier, from Medieval Latin exemplificāre “to copy”; See exemplum, -ify
Explanation
If you exemplify something, you're the perfect example of it. Say you wear frilly shirts, knee-high boots, and black eye-make-up — you exemplify the fashion world's obsession with pirates. Exemplifying something can also mean make it clearer by offering an illustration or an example. If you want to exemplify your argument that, say, pirate gear is fashionable, you might want to show your friends some pictures of celebrities wearing eye patches.
Vocabulary lists containing exemplify
Power Suffix: -fy
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Grade 9, List 2
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The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 1
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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.
See Examples For:
"This year's awardees exemplify the determination and courage of journalists worldwide," said CPJ Chief Executive Jodie Ginsberg.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Two of the stories here, among her best, exemplify that skill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Habib said his two newest recruits "exemplify the kind of public servants Advance UK exists to support - principled, serious people who want to represent their communities honestly and without fear".
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
They exemplify what fairness in journalism looks like.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2025
It seems fair to say that Brunelleschi’s image aspires to exemplify what philosophers call a correspondence theory of truth, in which a statement or representation is true if it corresponds to external reality.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
As the Oswald incident exemplifies, TV “news” often equals “downbeat,” if not “tragic.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Gorillaz' latest album, The Mountain, exemplifies that approach.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
He’s on the board of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and received its David Rockefeller Award, given to an “individual from the business community who exemplifies enlightened generosity.”
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
It exemplifies how the film treats its subjects as complex individuals rather than engaging them with condescension.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
That is, the adoption of food production exemplifies what is termed an autocatalytic process—one that catalyzes itself in a positive feedback cycle, going faster and faster once it has started.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
It’s all part of his “simple approach” to life, as exemplified in his so-called Patriot Games, conducted on Tuesday.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
The playful partnering among its four women and men exemplified Mr. Morris’s gift for making old world dances and dancing feel fresh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
“This is the tip of the iceberg. Apple lacks visibility into what’s been happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership,” according to the lawsuit.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
Surrey Police Chief Constable Tim De Meyer said: "Had it not been for the courage of PC Wakefield, a life would have been lost. His bravery, skill and composure exemplified the best in policing."
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
This is the genuinely decisive technology of modern medicine, exemplified best by modern methods for immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, and the childhood virus diseases, and the contemporary use of antibiotics and chemotherapy for bacterial infections.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
Microsoft’s stock is having its worst month since 2000, and it’s tracking toward one of its worst annual performances on record, exemplifying a broader rotation out of the “Magnificent Seven.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
My award supposedly resulted from a vote by teachers and fellow eighth-graders as the student exemplifying the medal’s virtues—a citizenship prize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
World leaders have long understood the indispensable role played by the United States in exemplifying and supporting those values.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025
Here’s what they’re up to: busily exemplifying the definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2024
The relative lack of material goods has led some to regard these groups as exemplifying an ethic of living lightly on the land.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
