exemplify
Americanverb (used with object)
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exemplifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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exemplified,
past participle, past
-
exemplifying
present participle
verb
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to show by example
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to serve as an example of
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law
-
to make an official copy of (a document from public records) under seal
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to transcribe (a legal document)
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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exemplifysimple
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exemplifiessimple
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have exemplifiedperfect
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has exemplifiedperfect
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am exemplifyingprogressive
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are exemplifyingprogressive
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is exemplifyingprogressive
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have been exemplifyingperfect progressive
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has been exemplifyingperfect progressive
Past
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exemplifiedsimple
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had exemplifiedperfect
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was exemplifyingprogressive
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were exemplifyingprogressive
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had been exemplifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of exemplify
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English exemplifien, from Middle French exemplifier, from Medieval Latin exemplificāre “to copy”; See exemplum, -ify
Explanation
If you exemplify something, you're the perfect example of it. Say you wear frilly shirts, knee-high boots, and black eye-make-up — you exemplify the fashion world's obsession with pirates. Exemplifying something can also mean make it clearer by offering an illustration or an example. If you want to exemplify your argument that, say, pirate gear is fashionable, you might want to show your friends some pictures of celebrities wearing eye patches.
Vocabulary lists containing exemplify
Power Suffix: -fy
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Grade 9, List 2
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The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 1
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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:
"This year's awardees exemplify the determination and courage of journalists worldwide," said CPJ Chief Executive Jodie Ginsberg.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Two of the stories here, among her best, exemplify that skill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
Habib said his two newest recruits "exemplify the kind of public servants Advance UK exists to support - principled, serious people who want to represent their communities honestly and without fear".
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
They exemplify what fairness in journalism looks like.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2025
The 1919 experiments would exemplify the Rutherford style.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
According to Kieran no-one exemplifies this better than a young lad named Cali whom he met in Alabama.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Skidelsky’s brand of 21st-century Keynesianism exemplifies how the heralds of prominent thinkers often lose a sense of proportion when they elaborate on their heroes’ ideas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
No one exemplifies this generous worldview better than Lotta, who turns out not to be the villain of May’s darkest imaginings but a complicated, compassionate and rather philosophical human being.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The margin story exemplifies the challenge for Oracle and other high-margin software companies.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Technology’s history exemplifies what is termed an autocatalytic process: that is, one that speeds up at a rate that increases with time, because the process catalyzes itself.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
It’s all part of his “simple approach” to life, as exemplified in his so-called Patriot Games, conducted on Tuesday.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Some said that Jackie’s influence would live on, exemplified by a recent successful effort to raise money to buy and conserve land near her nest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
And that risk-seeking attitude is exemplified by the action in major index options, he believes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
The playful partnering among its four women and men exemplified Mr. Morris’s gift for making old world dances and dancing feel fresh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The idea behind Liszt’s symphonic poems was to reduce the traditional four-movement symphony as exemplified by Beethoven into one concentrated, shorter piece that would be a musical response to a non-musical artwork.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
The case has been widely criticised for exemplifying the erosion of freedom of expression in the city.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
Microsoft’s stock is having its worst month since 2000, and it’s tracking toward one of its worst annual performances on record, exemplifying a broader rotation out of the “Magnificent Seven.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
My award supposedly resulted from a vote by teachers and fellow eighth-graders as the student exemplifying the medal’s virtues—a citizenship prize.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026
World leaders have long understood the indispensable role played by the United States in exemplifying and supporting those values.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2025
The relative lack of material goods has led some to regard these groups as exemplifying an ethic of living lightly on the land.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
