incarnate
Americanadjective
-
embodied in flesh; given a bodily, especially a human, form.
a devil incarnate.
-
personified or typified, as a quality or idea.
chivalry incarnate.
-
flesh-colored or crimson.
verb (used with object)
-
incarnates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
incarnated,
past participle, past
-
incarnating
present participle
-
to put into or represent in a concrete form, as an idea.
The building incarnates the architect's latest theories.
-
to be the embodiment or type of.
Her latest book incarnates the literature of our day.
-
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
-
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
-
incarnatesimple
-
incarnatessimple
-
have incarnatedperfect
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has incarnatedperfect
-
am incarnatingprogressive
-
are incarnatingprogressive
-
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:
Here, in effect, stood American corporations incarnate: massive, spectacular, inventive, prosperous, self-confident.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2025
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
Cudn Hope laughed, but Papa looked like he’d just heard heresy incarnate.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Santos incarnates its venal and ridiculous side, the part rooted in reality TV and get-rich-quick schemes.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 3, 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
Gabriel Attal, the government spokesman, told Europe 1 radio that Ms. Baker was a “magnificent symbol who incarnates the love for France that can also come from people who are not born here.”
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2021
For Taseer, Benares incarnates a curious quality of modernity: the city makes anthropologists of the devout and believers of the skeptical.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 30, 2019
Is there a single figure in the fresco representing the “Triumph of St. Thomas” which incarnates the idea it symbolises, which, without its labelling instrument, would convey any meaning whatever?
From The Florentine Painters of the Renaissance With An Index To Their Works by Bernard Berenson
"She truly incarnated the love and passion of Jesus for people here," she added.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Erivo, a musical theater divinity, incarnated Elphaba from the inside out while delivering the power ballads with as much feeling as vocal majesty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 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 magic incarnated by Chapman is followed by the malevolent wonders of technology in the novel’s second major thread.
From New York Times ● Jul. 13, 2021
There is the story of Vishnu incarnated as Vamana the dwarf.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
And here is Brooks Atkinson on an ingénue named Carol Channing incarnating Miss Lorelei Lee in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” in 1949: “There has never been anything like this before in human society.”
From New York Times ● May 28, 2020
Which are different, but not dissimilar ways of incarnating a better, kinder world and more authentic relationships.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 27, 2019
Scott Shepherd and Ari Fliakos take turns incarnating the brash, bumptious Mailer, whose offensive remarks rile the panelists and audience member to the point of near riot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2017
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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
