personify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
personifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
personified,
past participle, past
-
personifying
present participle
-
to attribute human nature or character to (an inanimate object or an abstraction), as in speech or writing.
-
to represent (a thing or abstraction) in the form of a person, as in art.
-
to embody (a quality, idea, etc.) in a real person or a concrete thing.
-
to be an embodiment or incarnation of; typify.
He personifies the ruthless ambition of some executives.
The vicar's wife was grace and beauty personified.
- Synonyms:
- incorporate, exemplify, represent
-
to personate.
verb
-
to attribute human characteristics to (a thing or abstraction)
-
to represent (an abstract quality) in human or animal form
-
(of a person or thing) to represent (an abstract quality), as in art or literature
-
to be the embodiment of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
personifysimple
-
personifiessimple
-
have personifiedperfect
-
has personifiedperfect
-
am personifyingprogressive
-
are personifyingprogressive
-
is personifyingprogressive
-
have been personifyingperfect progressive
-
has been personifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
personifiedsimple
-
had personifiedperfect
-
was personifyingprogressive
-
were personifyingprogressive
-
had been personifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of personify
First recorded in 1720–30; person + -ify; compare French personnifier, Italian personificare
Explanation
To personify is to give something lifeless human-like qualities — like when Emily Dickinson wrote, "Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me..." You can also use the verb personify to show one person embodying another, like an actor attempting to personify Abraham Lincoln in a play about the former president. A person can also personify a value or emotion, as when the founder of a charitable organization is said to personify generosity and selflessness. When you add the suffix -ify (meaning "to make") to a noun, you "verbify" that noun. So personify means "to make into a person."
Vocabulary lists containing personify
Power Suffix: -fy
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
What If It's Us
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Fablehaven
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Or do these émigrés personify a loss of faith in America’s future and way of life?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
Senior voices in government counter that Starmer and Reeves personify the modern Labour Party in government.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
Some early depictions show voladores dressed as birds, perhaps to personify gods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
Of one starved survivor who wept before him, Kissinger reflected: “Human dignity, objective values have stopped at this barbed wire”—but “as long as conscience exists as a conception in this world you will personify it.”
From Slate ● Nov. 30, 2023
It was an even more obvious metaphor for Christians, as it was easy to think of God as a legislator imposing laws on nature and to personify nature as obeying him.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
A good story requires characters, and Mr. Kukushkin personifies atoms, chemicals, even entire biological kingdoms, using whimsical drama to illustrate fundamental principles of biochemistry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
In his maqāma, Ibn al-Wardi personifies the plague as a mischievous wanderer who brings death to one region after another over a 15-year journey.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2025
“The shadow personifies everything that the subject refuses to acknowledge about himself,” Jung wrote.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2025
I ask her what it best personifies about L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024
The Evening Star is the star of metal; Sun Wu Kung also personifies a metal, hence the Evening Star appears as his apologist.
From The Chinese Fairy Book by Richard Wilhelm
Carlo Ancelotti was coolness personified, and no wonder all his players love him - he is a great football man and human being.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
These building blocks of the fest are personified by the big red “Netflix Is a Joke” blocks found on almost every stage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
“Unfortunately, but predictably, it was at the expense of signaling that Lululemon was no longer the leading, premium, cool brand initially personified by its muse.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
Cabello has personified Venezuela’s ruling socialist movement like few others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
There are texts from Maya, who saw me on the news and thinks I’m dope personified, and texts from Chris.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
All were revolutionaries, changing the character of the world they inhabited and personifying the inventiveness at the heart of the American character itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Directed by artistic director Mathew Wright, the solo performance features Alcalá personifying four nurses and a respiratory therapist, using their words, verbatim, about working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2023
One of his only hobbies is putting holes in the wall, personifying the imploding of your life once parenthood enters it like a bomb going off.
From Salon ● Aug. 28, 2022
On the other side of town is another, equally imposing statue personifying the Italian stonemasons who also brought their skills to Barre.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 16, 2022
Seven divisions of Cosmos, seven regions, seven spirits personifying celestial bodies and moral qualities.
From The Fundamental Principles of Old and New World Civilizations by Zelia Nuttall
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
