embody
Americanverb (used with object)
-
embodies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
embodied,
past participle, past
-
embodying
present participle
-
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.
verb
-
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 action
his gentleness embodies a Christian ideal
-
(often foll by in) to collect or unite in a comprehensive whole, system, etc; comprise; include
all the different essays were embodied in one long article
-
to invest (a spiritual entity) with a body or with bodily form; render incarnate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
embodysimple
-
embodiessimple
-
have embodiedperfect
-
has embodiedperfect
-
am embodyingprogressive
-
are embodyingprogressive
-
is embodyingprogressive
-
have been embodyingperfect progressive
-
has been embodyingperfect progressive
Past
-
embodiedsimple
-
had embodiedperfect
-
was embodyingprogressive
-
were embodyingprogressive
-
had been embodyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of embody
Explanation
To embody a role is to fill it completely. If a high schooler seems to embody the character of Macbeth, his performance might make the audience forget they're watching a dorky 15-year-old with braces. If you embody someone, you put him or her "in-body," as when an actor gives a complete and compelling representation of a character. You can also use embody to describe character traits you see in a person, like, “He embodies truth,” or, “She is the embodiment of goodness.”
Vocabulary lists containing embody
100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Vocabulary from "Stop Expecting Games to Build Empathy" by Julie Muncy
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Content Summary G.2: Regionalization
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The bins embody an idea that has gone too far: that more recycling is always better.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
"Few objects in the history of sport embody greatness as completely as Michael Jordan's game three jersey from the 1998 NBA Finals," Joopiter said in the auction posting.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
For a franchise that came to embody old Hollywood glamour, Tanter’s voice became the ideal soundtrack.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Short came to embody the inverse of that picture, the shaded gloom lurking in places that escape sunshiny illumination.
From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026
However, if Brunelleschi had mastered the geometry of perspective as early as 1413 it becomes a little difficult to explain why there are no surviving paintings which embody these principles before 1425.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Kaluuya embodies Jay, newly released from a psychiatric hospital because Misty ran out of money to pay the bill, all the way down to the marrow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
They may reach arguably loftier artistic heights with “Revolver,” “Sgt. Pepper,” “The White Album,” or “Abbey Road” — take your pick — but “Rubber Soul” embodies the group’s decisive turn towards self-conscious greatness.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
Former labor organizer and iron worker Brian Poindexter embodies the emerging blue-collar, practical-minded Democrat type in the upcoming midterms.
From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026
Mocked by some as the “Darth Vader” façade for its bizarrely helmeted Roman soldiers, the Passion façade embodies the New Testament story of betrayal, suffering and transcendence in angular, expressionistic figures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
True concluded triumphantly, “God or man, he embodies all the radiant energy of the adolescence of western art.”
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Fresh off the heels of Thom Browne’s New York Fashion Week presentation, where models and dancers embodied bugs and butterflies, the designer exchanged emails with Tyler Matthew Oyer about his creative process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The pilot Smit Machchhar embodied the "highest degrees of courage, responsibility, and care for human life", the UAE official said in a post on X.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
Of all the recent attempts to erase the cultural past embodied in stone, Palmyra in Syria still stands out.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
There was a “recognition that donnish brainpower—whether embodied in scientific experts, staff office strategists, temporary civil servants or economists tasked with Lend-Lease negotiations—had played a significant part in winning the war.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
There was the incomprehensible secret embodied in a whitish toadstool hiding in the dark shade of a rotting log.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
“This union of artistry and vision transformed the property into a singular masterpiece, embodying the glamour and creative force of Hollywood’s Golden Age,” the description added.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
Jenny Lê, the flagship’s head of operations, has become the nucleus of the store, embodying the essence of discipline, intention and collaboration that has been there from the very beginning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Haverford gave him an award for embodying the college’s values.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
And he put his own political brand - steady, competent and embodying the highest moral standards - front and centre.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Curiously, though, environmentalists also describe Native American history as embodying precisely the opposite lesson: how to live in a spiritual balance with Nature.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
