epitomize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to contain or represent in small compass; serve as a typical example of; typify.
This meadow epitomizes the beauty of the whole area.
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to make an epitome of.
to epitomize an argument.
verb
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to be a personification of; typify
-
to make an epitome of
Other Word Forms
- epitomist noun
- epitomization noun
- epitomizer noun
- unepitomized adjective
Etymology
Origin of epitomize
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.
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
Both are trailblazing politicians, mixed-raced children with unusual names, whose biographies epitomize the nation’s changing face.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2024
“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
The work going on display was painted by an Ethiopian artist and celebrates the Ethiopian victory in what came to epitomize pan-African independence at a time when European empires were carving up the continent.
From Seattle Times • May 9, 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
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.
