epitomize
Americanverb (used with object)
-
epitomizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
epitomized,
past participle, past
-
epitomizing
present participle
-
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.
verb
-
to be a personification of; typify
-
to make an epitome of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
epitomizesimple
-
epitomizessimple
-
have epitomizedperfect
-
has epitomizedperfect
-
am epitomizingprogressive
-
are epitomizingprogressive
-
is epitomizingprogressive
-
have been epitomizingperfect progressive
-
has been epitomizingperfect progressive
Past
-
epitomizedsimple
-
had epitomizedperfect
-
was epitomizingprogressive
-
were epitomizingprogressive
-
had been epitomizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of epitomize
Explanation
If you epitomize something, you’re a perfect example of that thing. If you never get nervous when playing basketball and can always make that last-second shot, your teammates might say you epitomize mental toughness. A person can epitomize something — usually an abstract quality, like grace or greed — but epitomize can apply to other things as well. A popular band might epitomize the spirit of the new decade, which means it has all the main characteristics associated with the era's music, like long folksy beards, pretty harmonies, and earnest lyrics. A frustrating situation at work involving careless coworkers might make you say that they epitomize everything that’s wrong with your job.
Vocabulary lists containing epitomize
The Color of Water
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!
Into Thin Air
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!
Harriet Tubman
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 two entrepreneurs came to epitomize a certain swagger of the first hype cycle roughly a decade ago when Silicon Valley was betting it could replace a world of human-driven cars with robots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 22, 2026
“They lost so much in the fires yet they’re still doing so much for their community. They really epitomize the spirit that we felt was rising in L.A.,”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2025
“Water projects came to epitomize the pork barrel; they were the oil can that lubricated the nation’s legislative machinery.”
From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2024
In browsing print shops and bookstores, I found and bought illustrated books by designers whose styles epitomize art nouveau, Art Deco, and the arts and crafts aesthetic.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 8, 2023
The time-tested strategy of using those who epitomize moral virtue as symbols in racial justice campaigns is far more difficult to employ in efforts to reform the criminal justice system.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Since its excellence needs no explaining, here are a few others that are as worthy of our appreciation, including a heartwarming duet that epitomizes Parton’s universal appeal.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
With Craftsman bungalows and tree-lined streets, the city still epitomizes suburban U.S.A. — but now has a hip new twist.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
The fund, founded in 1929, epitomizes Vanguard Group founder Jack Bogle’s values —own a balanced mix of stocks and bonds, and keep your costs down.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
For me, his dilemma epitomizes both the potential and pitfalls of investing in private assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
The first law of good manners, which epitomizes all the rest is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."
From Our Deportment Or the Manners, Conduct and Dress of the Most Refined Society by John H. Young
The huge advancements in generative AI, epitomized by the release of ChatGPT, shocked him into action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Ruby Cochrane and Olga Nikolaeva epitomized the mindset Mira Costa brought to Saturday afternoon’s Southern Section Division 1 girls’ beach volleyball championship match at Long Beach City College.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2026
The finish was epitomized in the final minutes when, leading by five, Smart had a lunging, slapping steal before throwing a perfect bounce pass to a driving James, who finished with a dunk.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
Some longevity influencers attract rubbernecking for their quixotic quests to live forever, epitomized by venture capitalist Bryan Johnson’s vampiric infusions of his teenage son’s blood plasma.
From Slate ● Feb. 26, 2026
Both laws epitomized the ethos of the Nationalist government, which pretended to preserve what they were attempting to destroy.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Burrows modeled the notion of directing as a duty to truly bring a show’s cast and writing into people’s living rooms and lives, epitomizing the idea that laughter narrows the distance between strangers.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
Times restaurant critic Bill Addison as “deftly engineered chaos,” ultimately epitomizing the “L.A. dreamer, the go-getter.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026
A deal epitomizing the new era of resource nationalism was unveiled Wednesday when Glencore agreed to sell a stake in two African copper mines to a consortium backed by the U.S. government.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026
They were epitomizing the control-the-strike-zone brand of baseball Servais and president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto have harped on.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2022
In epitomizing this valuable book of reference, Mr. Townsend has endeavoured to give as fair a view of the leading details of Modern History as was possible within the limits.
From A New Illustrated Edition of J. S. Rarey's Art of Taming Horses With the Substance of the Lectures at the Round House, and Additional Chapters on Horsemanship and Hunting, for the Young and Timid by J. S. (John Solomon) Rarey
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
