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Synonyms

embodiment

American  
[em-bod-ee-muhnt] / ɛmˈbɒd i mənt /

noun

  • embodiments
    plural
  1. the act of embodying.

  2. the state or fact of being embodied.

  3. a person, being, or thing embodying a spirit, principle, abstraction, etc; incarnation.

  4. something embodied.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of embodiment

First recorded in 1820–30; embody + -ment

Explanation

The embodiment of something gives concrete form to an abstract idea. A flag is the embodiment of a country. When you talk about embodiment, you're talking about giving a form to ideas that are usually not physical: like love, hate, fear, justice, etc. A gavel is the embodiment of justice; a wedding ring can be the embodiment of love. The word body in embodiment is a clue to its meaning: this is a word for giving a body to things that usually don't have one.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing embodiment

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:

This morning, he’s in Manhattan’s Flatiron district, at the flagship store for On, the sleek Swiss apparel brand for whom he’s both an investor and spiritual embodiment.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 25, 2026

Comic Con, on the other hand, was the embodiment of the Kentucky motto.

From Salon Jul. 31, 2026

The taco stand where Lopez and Diaz worked together was in some ways the embodiment of the American dream.

From Los Angeles Times Jul. 8, 2026

The findings build on Levy’s stereotype embodiment theory.

From Science Daily Jun. 21, 2026

Ayesha is the living embodiment of an old-school Hollywood halo filter.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

He and Erkılıç have achieved international acclaim for their team’s decades of foundational experimentation collaborating with dataset intelligences at the AI frontier, as well as for architecturally-scaled, narratively engaged visual embodiments of abstract technological constructs.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 5, 2026

He added: "We should be proud to sit here as embodiments of the hereditary principle dating back a millennium."

From BBC Mar. 10, 2026

Electric versions of the industry’s beefiest SUVs and pickups are stark embodiments of America’s EV reckoning.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 6, 2025

“Watching the movie, I saw embodiments of things I had gone through,” he says.

From Salon Jun. 21, 2025

The nature or essence of any individual would seem to imply in its very concept a transcendental relation of specific identity with all other actual and possible individual embodiments of this essence.

From Ontology or the Theory of Being by Peter Coffey

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