epitomize

[ih-pit-uh-mahyz]

verb (used with object), e·pit·o·mized, e·pit·o·miz·ing.

to contain or represent in small compass; serve as a typical example of; typify: This meadow epitomizes the beauty of the whole area.
to make an epitome of: to epitomize an argument.

Also especially British, e·pit·o·mise.

Origin of epitomize

First recorded in 1590–1600; epitom(e) + -ize

Related formse·pit·o·mi·za·tion, noune·pit·o·miz·er, nounun·e·pit·o·mized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for epitomise

Historical Examples of epitomise

It always seemed to her to characterise and to epitomise him, that grotesque expression.
This Freedom
A. S. M. Hutchinson
The actual achievements of Manet epitomise the secondary in art.
Modern Painting, Its Tendency and Meaning
Willard Huntington Wright
Nearly 150 of these "Conversations" were written in all, and we epitomise here five of the best-known.
The World's Greatest Books -- Vol XX -- Miscellaneous Literature and Index
Various
He therefore instituted a poetical competition in which each monk was to epitomise in a quatrain the essence of Zen.
Zen Buddhism
Arthur Waley
To repeat the whole problem as it is put in the Summa, we can epitomise the reasoning of St. Thomas in this easier way.
Mediaeval Socialism
Bede Jarrett

British Dictionary definitions for epitomise

epitomize

epitomise

verb (tr)

to be a personification of; typify
to make an epitome of

Derived Formsepitomist, nounepitomization or epitomisation, nounepitomizer or epitomiser, 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 epitomise

chiefly British English spelling of epitomize. For spelling, see -ize. Related: Epitomising; epitomises.

epitomize

1590s, "shorten, condense," from epitome + -ize. Meaning "typify, embody" is from 1620s. Related: Epitomized; epitomizing; epitomizes.