incarnate
Americanadjective
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embodied in flesh; given a bodily, especially a human, form.
a devil incarnate.
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personified or typified, as a quality or idea.
chivalry incarnate.
-
flesh-colored or crimson.
verb (used with object)
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incarnates,
present (3rd person singular)
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incarnated,
past participle, past
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incarnating
present participle
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to put into or represent in a concrete form, as an idea.
The building incarnates the architect's latest theories.
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to be the embodiment or type of.
Her latest book incarnates the literature of our day.
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to embody in flesh; invest with a bodily, especially a human, form.
a man who incarnated wisdom and compassion.
adjective
-
possessing bodily form, esp the human form
a devil incarnate
-
personified or typified
stupidity incarnate
-
(esp of plant parts) flesh-coloured or pink
verb
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to give a bodily or concrete form to
-
to be representative or typical of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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incarnatesimple
-
incarnatessimple
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have incarnatedperfect
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has incarnatedperfect
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am incarnatingprogressive
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are incarnatingprogressive
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is incarnatingprogressive
-
have been incarnatingperfect progressive
-
has been incarnatingperfect progressive
Past
-
incarnatedsimple
-
had incarnatedperfect
-
was incarnatingprogressive
-
were incarnatingprogressive
-
had been incarnatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of incarnate
First recorded in 1350–1400; late Middle English, from Late Latin incarnātus, past participle of incarnāre “to make into flesh,” equivalent to in- “in” + carn- “flesh” + -ātus past participle suffix; see in- 2, carnal, -ate 1
Explanation
Incarnate means “having a bodily form.” If you encounter someone who pulls off butterflies’ wings for fun, you might describe that person as “evil incarnate.” The meaning of incarnate is precisely what its Latin roots suggest. The prefix in- means “in” and caro means “flesh,” so incarnate means “in the flesh.” The word can be used in positive or negative situations, but it always describes an unusual, possibly miraculous instance in which something that can’t normally be seen or touched assumes a bodily form. For example, the Christian religion was founded on the belief that Jesus was God incarnate.
Vocabulary lists containing incarnate
Christmas Carol Vocab: A Lyrical Lexicon
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Death of a Salesman
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Words from Shakespearean Insults
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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:
Islamic fasting is oriented toward submission to divine will, while Christian penance is animated by gratitude for the incarnate God who suffered, died and rose again for the salvation of humanity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 25, 2026
The former cop and Secret Service agent spent nearly a decade losing three congressional races in two different states before settling into a groove as steroids incarnate with a microphone.
From Slate ● Mar. 1, 2025
Rep. Matt Gaetz said, “Mr. Weiss was here incarnate, but not particularly in spirit.”
From Washington Times ● Nov. 7, 2023
Afterwards Kolisi, the Springboks' skipper and spirit incarnate, spoke about distinctive mood music that accompanies his team's matches.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2023
"This TV is the devil incarnate," she said in a loud voice.
From "March Forward, Girl" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Santos incarnates its venal and ridiculous side, the part rooted in reality TV and get-rich-quick schemes.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 2023
Ray Fisher incarnates, with natural majesty, the brawn and bravado of Muhammad Ali; Edwin Lee Gibson shambles and stammers as Stepin Fetchit while retaining the dignity of a canny survivor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
“He incarnates this figure of authority,” Gilles Holder, a Mali expert at the CNRS, told the New York Times.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 16, 2022
The short piece, developed for this program, comes from a section of her solo work, “Hope Hunt and the Ascension Into Lazarus,” in which Doherty, an Irish choreographer, incarnates shifting ideas of masculinity.
From New York Times ● Apr. 2, 2021
To each every national thought and habit incarnates a patriotism which is in defiance of that on the other side of the frontier.
From My Year of the War Including an Account of Experiences with the Troops in France and the Record of a Visit to the Grand Fleet Which is Here Given for the First Time in its Complete Form by Frederick Palmer
"She truly incarnated the love and passion of Jesus for people here," she added.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
This change was made in the name of the one who incarnated the movement and its national revolution.
From Salon ● May 30, 2024
Many people dislike her decisions, but there has been little organized protest—no one I spoke to could name a politician who incarnated the opposition.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2023
The dance is what the title suggests: the twistings and turnings of an insomniac, incarnated by the flexible Heriberto Meneses.
From New York Times ● Oct. 5, 2022
When he entered a tournament, dressed in a khaki shirt and pants and dark tie and displaying that mustache, it was as if a doppelgänger of Der Fuehrer had been incarnated.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
That’s enough genius for any writer, but Williams goes further by offering actors the opportunity of incarnating his interior poetry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2024
The dancers were incarnating the tormented souls of “Inferno,” the opening section of the full-length “Dante Project,” which is to have its premiere on Thursday.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
Aretha became a revolution by incarnating powerful ideas and desires that were sloshing around seeking a vessel strong enough to contain them.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 16, 2018
The first softens as it goes, incarnating Jesus’ earthly despair:
From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2016
His world was the world of ideas, taking visible form, incarnating themselves in man.
From Renaissance in Italy Volume 3 The Fine Arts by John Addington Symonds
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.
