edify

American  

[ed-uh-fahy] / ˈɛd əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object)

edified, edifying

1. to instruct or benefit, especially morally or spiritually; uplift.

   religious paintings that edify the viewer.

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edify British  

/ ˈɛdɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. (tr) to improve the morality, intellect, etc, of, esp by instruction

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Other Word Forms

• edifier noun
• edifying adjective
• edifyingly adverb
• nonedified adjective
• reedify verb (used with object)
• unedified adjective

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.

Example Sentences

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

Gonzalez’s main strategies are to allow Olga’s mother to edify the reader along with her children through her letters and to have characters speak to each other in blocks of exposition.

From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2022

While there is, indeed, a camp of leadership who argue that it’s wiser to keep people in the door and continue to edify them, Cordileone is not among them.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 9, 2021

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

Nothing can edify save the presentation of God dealing with man as he really is; and this is what the word gives us.

From Notes on the Book of Genesis by Mackintosh, Charles Henry

Related Words

• enlighten
• uplift