exemplify
Americanverb (used with object)
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exemplifies,
present (3rd person singular)
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exemplified,
past participle, past
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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
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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
Grade 9, List 2
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Power Suffix: -fy
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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:
"These investigations exemplify how Artemis and Moon Base are expanding the frontier of lunar exploration, advancing innovative technologies, deepening our understanding of the Moon's environment, and paving the way for future astronaut missions."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Examples of individual stocks that exemplify the three defensive stock-picking strategies appear in the table below.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
All the denizens of Thoreau’s Cape Cod, from its scraggly scrub pine trees to its people, exemplify the humility that goes hand-in-hand with danger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
Two of the stories here, among her best, exemplify that skill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026
The 1919 experiments would exemplify the Rutherford style.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“Except for the air assets, the fact that everyone else is a volunteer is awesome. It truly exemplifies the adage ‘Do unto others as you would want others to do unto you.’”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Fjord” exemplifies a particularly vital strain of cinema, the kind that peers into reality and finds horror just beneath the surface.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
According to Kieran no-one exemplifies this better than a young lad named Cali whom he met in Alabama.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
But Carmy also exemplifies the best of what his other mentors imparted to him – great chefs like Daniel Boulud, who teaches him to hear music in sizzling oil.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2024
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
They were overpowering their opponents, exemplified by Tevaga being unstoppable from close to the posts for their third try.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
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
The show grew so popular that it spawned a whole genre of smooth and sexy music, exemplified by artists like Anita Baker and Luther Vandross.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2026
So at first there was not one Scientific Revolution but two, one exemplified by Newton’s classical physics, the other by Rutherford’s nuclear physics.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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
Here’s what they’re up to: busily exemplifying the definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2024
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.
