incarnation

[in-kahr-ney-shuhn]

noun

1. an incarnate being or form.

2. a living being embodying a deity or spirit.

3. assumption of human form or nature.

4. (sometimes lowercase),  the Incarnation, the doctrine that the second person of the Trinity assumed human form in the person of Jesus Christ and is completely both God and man.

5. a person or thing regarded as embodying or exhibiting some quality, idea, or the like.

   The leading dancer is the incarnation of grace.

6. the act of incarnating.

7. state of being incarnated.

incarnation

¹

/ ˌɪnkɑːˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of manifesting or state of being manifested in bodily form, esp human form

2. a bodily form assumed by a god, etc

3. a person or thing that typifies or represents some quality, idea, etc

   the weasel is the incarnation of ferocity

Incarnation

²

/ ˌɪnkɑːˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. Christian theol the assuming of a human body by the Son of God

2. Christianity the presence of God on Earth in the person of Jesus

Incarnation

1. The Christian belief that the Son, the second person of the Trinity, was incarnated, or made flesh, in the person of Jesus, in order to save the world from original sin (see also original sin).

Other Word Forms

• incarnational adjective
• postincarnation adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of incarnation¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English incarnacion, from Late Latin incarnātiōn-, stem of incarnātiō; equivalent to incarnate + -ion

Example Sentences

This history bodes ill for the meme ETF in its new incarnation.

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Back in the 1990s, only two or three people a week visited what was then a little-known place of worship to Lord Balaji, a local incarnation of the Hindu god Lord Vishnu.

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Earlier incarnations of this story had activism as the end goal, Valentin for his principles and Molina for his new friend.

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The Met chorus, directed by Tilman Michael, was excellent in its various incarnations.

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But, 130 years ago, on a September night, the first incarnation of the cup was stolen and the identity of the criminals was a mystery for decades.

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