Other Word Forms
- preembodiment noun
Etymology
Origin of embodiment
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.
Vocabulary lists containing embodiment
The Crucible
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The Awakening
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The Boys in the Boat
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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.
The charro figure, long celebrated in cinema and music, is as much an embodiment of manhood and culture in Mexico as the cowboy is in the United States.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026
They then tested how different movement speeds influenced embodiment, including body ownership, sense of agency, usability, and social impressions such as competence and discomfort.
From Science Daily • Feb. 13, 2026
"We want to be able to breathe intelligence into any sort of physical embodiment, whether that's a humanoid robot or even something that looks closer to an appliance," says co-founder Chelsea Finn.
From BBC • Jan. 11, 2026
His anecdotes would become the basis for Crystal’s character, Harry, while Ryan’s witty foil, Sally, was the embodiment of Ephron’s sharp and observant eye.
From Salon • Dec. 17, 2025
The water looked awful and murky and the very embodiment of disease, but once it was cupped in my hand gave the impression of overbrewed tea.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
