typify
Americanverb
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to be typical of; characterize
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to symbolize or represent completely, by or as if by a type
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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typifysimple
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typifiessimple
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have typifiedperfect
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has typifiedperfect
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am typifyingprogressive
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are typifyingprogressive
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is typifyingprogressive
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have been typifyingperfect progressive
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has been typifyingperfect progressive
Past
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typifiedsimple
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had typifiedperfect
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was typifyingprogressive
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were typifyingprogressive
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had been typifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of typify
Explanation
To typify is to represent what is typical of something or someone. You might say that screaming and door slamming typify your spoiled cousin if that kind of behavior is exactly the kind of thing she usually does. Something that's characteristic of a group of people typifies them. You might observe, for example, that studying late on a Friday night typifies your college friends who are math majors. You could also say that sunny days and cool nights typify autumn in New England, since that's the typical weather for that particular place and time. The root word is Greek — typos, which means "dent, impression, mark, figure, or original form."
Vocabulary lists containing typify
"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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The Namesake
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Articles on Dangers of Technology
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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:
What better show to typify that era of relative calm than what the characters on “Seinfeld” described as a show about nothing?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
On the second series, Smith tripped over Charbonnet’s foot as he dropped back to pass and was touched down at the 1-yard-line, a play that seemed to typify the Seahawks’ ineptness in the first half.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2023
The hashtag #PoorMartha was used on social media to typify fans’ glee at her susceptibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
Wales' shirt numbers were falling off to confuse matters and typify the frantic opening exchanges.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2023
Merlin has a bright, fair, rather chubby face and blue eyes, and seems to typify the northern intelligence.
From Sea and Sardinia by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence
It’s co-hosted by British multihyphenate producer and entrepreneur Charles Finch, who presides over the affair with the charm and graciousness that typifies the best hosts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026
Kwiyup typifies a new class of self-styled entrepreneurs who might traditionally be called freelancers and side hustlers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
A word that perhaps typifies Clarke's reign more than any other.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2025
Lasagna typifies a certain familiarity and reliability, comfortably ensconced in the Italian-American repertoire but also something that feels universal enough, straddling the line between pasta and casserole.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2024
What he was not interested in was the grueling fieldwork that typifies sociology.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
And he has looked to do this while sticking to the intense and chaotic style that typified his previous sides.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
They also suggest that the disinflation earlier this year may have been another of the false dawns that have typified recent Fed performance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
He typified the Lakers’ adaptability with 32 assists in the last five games of the regular season after averaging 1.7 assists per game since joining the team.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 19, 2026
The government will hope to draw a line under a tumultuous 2025, with what they hope is an investment boom typified by recent announcements on Heathrow and on a new northern train line.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026
The thing that most worried him about the Ptolemaic system, typified by the puzzle of the Moon, was the business of equants.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
The work was unveiled in 1920 in a ceremony that lauded Otis for typifying “the ideal which first brought men and women to America.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
But typifying the night, Suarez bounced one to short — again, at 103 mph off the bat — with two outs in the eighth and Kelenic taking off from second.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 9, 2023
Before expending the effort typifying one's love language, it is worth inquiring: is the concept is actually psychologically meaningful, or just another batch of pop psychology B.S.?
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2021
He made asymmetrical cutouts in tight garments and put guys in the unconventional halter necks that, in pure anatomical terms, are well suited to the broad shoulders typifying an idealized masculine form.
From New York Times ● Jun. 29, 2021
From the lips of St. Peter, typifying the church, comes a speech of violent denunciation, in the true later Miltonic manner.
From Minor Poems by Milton by John Milton
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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.
