embodied

[em-bod-eed]

adjective

1. expressed, personified, or exemplified in concrete form.

   The one-day intensive workshop is designed to shift peacemaking from words and theory to costly, embodied reality.

2. having or provided with a body; incarnate or corporeal.

   In most folklore, ghosts seem to be bound by many of the same physical laws that bind embodied beings.

3. Environmental Science.,  relating to or being the energy involved or required in the production, maintenance, or use of a particular concrete object, and therefore thought of as part of the object.

   You can increase the embodied efficiency of a new house by building it in an already dense neighborhood, taking advantage of existing infrastructure and shorter distances.

4. (of writing) portraying the details of bodily experience as they are lived or relived by the writer so as to evoke them sympathetically in the reader.

   Acting out your characters is something I recommend as part of the enlivening practice of embodied writing.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of embody.

Other Word Forms

• well-embodied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of embodied¹

embody ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

For Gen Z, it was Unc Culture embodied in the best ways.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Jay Parini, in his review, observed that the author of “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was the man who “embodied, or perhaps invented, the American voice, with its granular lyricism and rough-edged, transgressive humor.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

In between unfolds a drama of infidelity, jealousy and, as embodied by Mr. Allen’s character, hypochondria.

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Despite the challenges I faced growing up, I’m grateful for the teachers, mentors and moments that produced whatever human capital I have—and for a grandmother who embodied grit and resilience.

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“I got certified as a breath coach. I started leaning more into embodied practices, body connection and somatic therapy tools.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• absolute 
• actual 
• authentic 
• certain 
• evident 
• for real 
• honest 
• legitimate 
• original 
• palpable 
• physical 
• positive 
• sincere 
• solid 
• substantial 
• substantive 
• true 
• undeniable