edify
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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edifiernoun
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reedifyverb (used with object)
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edifyingadjective
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nonedifiedadjective
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unedifiedadjective
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edifyinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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edifysimple
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edifiessimple
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have edifiedperfect
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has edifiedperfect
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am edifyingprogressive
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are edifyingprogressive
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is edifyingprogressive
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have been edifyingperfect progressive
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has been edifyingperfect progressive
Past
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edifiedsimple
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had edifiedperfect
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was edifyingprogressive
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were edifyingprogressive
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had been edifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of edify
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English edifien, from Anglo-French, Old French edifier, from Latin aedificāre “to build,” equivalent to aedi- (stem of aedes ) “house, temple” + -ficāre -fy
Explanation
To edify is to help someone understand, whether it is books that edify those who want to learn a new language, or the explanations that hang beside paintings at a museum that edify visitors who aren't familiar with the artist. If you know that the noun edifice is a synonym for building, you may wonder what the related verb edify has to do with understanding. You can think of something that edifies as the building blocks of what might become a lifelong interest, like an elementary school teacher who edifies the student who becomes an Abraham Lincoln scholar, or an activity you eventually master, like the beginners' lessons that edify new ice skaters.
Vocabulary lists containing edify
Othello
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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:
Finding the least taxing way to activate your inner circle could gratify — and edify — all involved, and restore a sense of control over your own well-being.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 21, 2022
As our reviewer, Josh Lambert, observed, it celebrates, more broadly, “a traditional liberal faith in books themselves, and in their power to edify, soothe and unite people.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
Yet Moreno-Garcia aims not just to edify but to thrill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2020
One story, The Millionaire, describes a disgraced man who undergoes ritual humiliation to edify people who want to witness “the version of the world you believe in”.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 14, 2020
O how oft did I wish, when I had wearied out my body and must give it rest, that I had godly books wherein to comfort, to delight, and to edify myself!
From The Adventurous Simplicissimus being the description of the Life of a Strange vagabond named Melchior Sternfels von Fuchshaim by Grimmelshausen, Hans Jacob Christoph von
If art no longer shocks, it seldom edifies.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ken Loach's film, written by Rona Munro and based on a true story, horrifies and edifies in equal measure.
From Time Magazine Archive
This is an album that edifies even as it enchants.
From Time Magazine Archive
"You mean the pope and the church, I suppose," said the boy, in a tone of simplicity; "like my lady's chaplain, who often edifies his hearers on this topic."
From The Rivals of Acadia An Old Story of the New World by Cheney, Harriet Vaughan
In so far as the drama uplifts and edifies the audience, it does so, not by precept or by syllogism, but by emotional suggestion.
From The Theory of the Theatre by Hamilton, Clayton Meeker
Boston did, however, bring unity: The court spoke unanimously, through an opinion by retiring Justice Stephen G. Breyer, who is heading home to an edified Boston.
From Washington Post ● May 6, 2022
But what makes the play especially tricky, and possibly infuriating to theatergoers seeking to be efficiently edified, is that Shawn doesn’t neatly sort out the subjective views of his characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2017
We’d been there for several hours by then, had consumed our blueberries and granola bars, were edified and overstimulated and thinking about making our way home after a while.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 22, 2017
Listening to Serial, This American Life, Radiolab, WTF with Marc Maron, or 99% Invisible, we expect to come out the other end edified and enriched, in complex ways.
From Slate ● Dec. 14, 2014
Parsons, his attention caught by the trumpet call, sat listening with a sort of gaping solemnity, a sort of edified boredom.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Witnessing the abrupt ending to a political career is never an edifying spectacle.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026
All that matters in this moment is one of life's most edifying trivialities: snooker.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
The interviews are inconsistent, and some are more edifying than others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
It’s also a central pillar of the pair’s edifying new sitcom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024
As a journalist, I found it edifying to experience things from the other side of the fence.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
