embody

[em-bod-ee]

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.

Origin of embody

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

Related formsem·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. 2018

Examples from the Web for embody

Contemporary Examples

Long before rehearsals began, Sharp started to embody Christopher.
The Brit Who Stormed Broadway
Tim Teeman
December 7, 2014
When it came to casting Escobar, Di Stefano had to find a strong actor who could embody the brutality of the late kingpin.
Gangster in Paradise: Benicio Del Toro Is Pablo Escobar
Alex Suskind
September 12, 2014
It was oh-so subtle, but he began to embody his grandfather and his father.
Native American Basketball Team in Wyoming Have Hoop Dreams Of Their Own
Robert Silverman
August 31, 2014
We can never know the degree to which these women actively choose to embody this ideal, or how “real” it may or may not be.
Lana Del Rey and the Fault in Our ‘Feminist’ Stars
Amy Zimmerman
June 11, 2014
Without the tension between good and evil—and without protagonists to embody that moral polarity—a lesser show would go slack.
Game of Thrones’ ‘The Lion and the Rose’: Joffrey’s Demented, Shocking Royal Wedding
Andrew Romano
April 14, 2014

Historical Examples

At last in desperation you embody it in a poem, an essay, a story.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
I had for some time thought about it, but had not attempted to embody the conception in a drawing.
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles
Yet the English have contrived to embody all these in one word, and that word my name!'
Lord Kilgobbin
Charles Lever
Endeavor to embody in the laws of the community the spirit of equity and progress.
The Mistakes of Jesus
William Floyd
We may read this cable wrong but it seems to us to embody a topsy-turvy tactic!
Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2
Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for embody

embody

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 Formsembodiment, 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

Word Origin and History for embody

v.

1540s, in reference to a soul or spirit invested with a physical form; of principles, ideas, etc., from 1660s; from en- (1) "in" + body. Related: Embodied; embodying.

embody

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Examples from the Web for embody

Contemporary Examples

Long before rehearsals began, Sharp started to embody Christopher.

When it came to casting Escobar, Di Stefano had to find a strong actor who could embody the brutality of the late kingpin.

It was oh-so subtle, but he began to embody his grandfather and his father.

We can never know the degree to which these women actively choose to embody this ideal, or how “real” it may or may not be.

Without the tension between good and evil—and without protagonists to embody that moral polarity—a lesser show would go slack.

Historical Examples

At last in desperation you embody it in a poem, an essay, a story.

I had for some time thought about it, but had not attempted to embody the conception in a drawing.

Yet the English have contrived to embody all these in one word, and that word my name!'

Endeavor to embody in the laws of the community the spirit of equity and progress.

We may read this cable wrong but it seems to us to embody a topsy-turvy tactic!

embody

Word Origin and History for embody

v.

Origin of embody