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

It sometimes feels like our information-stuffed age has done little to inform or edify but a great deal to buttress those who think they have all the facts on their side.

From Washington Post • Jan. 10, 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

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

Or shall, perhaps, our science edify itself with the works of Pliny who cites midwives as authorities and himself stands on their point of view?

From Popular scientific lectures by Mach, Ernst

Related Words

• enlighten
• uplift