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.

Nearby words

Also imbody.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for embody

Long before rehearsals began, Sharp started to embody Christopher.
The Brit Who Stormed Broadway|Tim Teeman|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Again it was suggested to him to embody in one of his messages "something soothing for South Carolina."
John Quincy Adams|John. T. Morse
Is it usual for you to embody your reserves for the manœuvres?
In the Russian Ranks|John Morse
I am issuing orders, in consequence, to other counties, to embody and march all the men they can arm.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson|Thomas Jefferson
If none of them represent the actual attainment of help, they all of them embody the passionate and persistent cry for it.
Is Life Worth Living?|William Hurrell Mallock
Language had attained such development that poetry of the highest structural form was about to embody the inspirations of genius.
Ancient Society|Lewis Henry Morgan

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

embody

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

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

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Nearby words

Origin of embody

Examples from the Web for embody

embody

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

embody