embody

[ em-bod-ee ]

/ ɛmˈbɒd i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR embody ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), em·bod·ied, em·bod·y·ing.

to give a concrete form to; express, personify, or exemplify in concrete form: to embody an idea in an allegorical painting.

to provide with a body; incarnate; make corporeal: to embody a spirit.

to collect into or include in a body; organize; incorporate.

to embrace or comprise.

Nearby words

emblematist, emblematize, emblements, emblemize, embodiment, embody, embolden, embole, embolectomy, embolic, embolism

Also imbody.

Origin of embody

First recorded in 1540–50; em-¹ + body

Related forms

em·bod·i·er, nounpre·em·bod·y, verb (used with object), pre·em·bod·ied, pre·em·bod·y·ing.re·em·bod·y, verb (used with object), re·em·bod·ied, re·em·bod·y·ing.well-em·bod·ied, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for embodies

His celebrity status rivals, if not far surpasses, the Warholian persona that Koons embodies and embeds within his own work.
Jeff Koons’ Bright, Shiny Objects|Justin Jones|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Just like Kathleen Sebelius with Obamacare, V.A. chief Eric Shinseki now embodies the VA scandal.
Why Dems Are Tripping Over Each Other to Push The V.A. Chief Out|Ben Jacobs, Tim Mak|May 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It embodies in the most impressive form our belief that to act with enthusiasm and faith is the condition of acting greatly.
The Real Memorial Day: Oliver Wendell Holmes's Salute To A Momentous American Anniversary|Malcolm Jones|May 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In each image, Sherman embodies a new role, with a wardrobe and makeup job to match every occasion.
Why Does the Art World Coddle James Franco?|Jessica Dawson|April 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And his small-scale sculpture Avarice and Lust (1887) embodies the two sins via a masculine form entangled with a female one.
Mapplethorpe’s Artistic Twin|Sarah Moroz|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The virtues and failings of the different elements it embodies are alike intensified in it.
Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations|Archibald Sayce
The conceptual hierarchy it embodies takes it out of the realm of any previous pragmatic experience.
The Civilization of Illiteracy|Mihai Nadin
It embodies all that is human in his hearths and all that is divine on his altars.
A Miscellany of Men|G. K. Chesterton
It appears that when an important motive of this sort develops in the race, it embodies the expression of fundamental desires.
The Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races|Sanger Brown, II
It teaches these principles as dictates of reason and justice, while it embodies them in the menacing authority of enactments.
An Essay on the Evils of Popular Ignorance|John Foster

British Dictionary definitions for embodies

embody

/ (ɪmˈbɒdɪ) /

verb -bodies, -bodying or -bodied (tr)

to give a tangible, bodily, or concrete form to (an abstract concept)

to be an example of or express (an idea, principle, etc), esp in actionhis gentleness embodies a Christian ideal

(often foll by in) to collect or unite in a comprehensive whole, system, etc; comprise; includeall the different essays were embodied in one long article

to invest (a spiritual entity) with a body or with bodily form; render incarnate

Derived Forms

embodiment, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

embody

verb (used with object), em·bod·ied, em·bod·y·ing.

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Nearby words

Origin of embody

Related forms

Examples from the Web for embodies

British Dictionary definitions for embodies

embody

verb -bodies, -bodying or -bodied (tr)

Derived Forms