personification

American  

[per-son-uh-fi-key-shuhn] / pərˌsɒn ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

personifications plural

1. the attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.

2. the representation of a thing or abstraction in the form of a person, as in art.

3. the person or thing embodying a quality or the like; an embodiment or incarnation.

   He is the personification of tact.

4. an imaginary person or creature conceived or figured to represent a thing or abstraction.

5. the act of personifying; the attributing of human qualities to an animal, object, or abstraction.

   The author's personification of the farm animals made for an enchanting children's book.

6. a character portrayal or representation in a dramatic or literary work.

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personification British  

/ pɜːˌsɒnɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

1. the attribution of human characteristics to things, abstract ideas, etc, as for literary or artistic effect

2. the representation of an abstract quality or idea in the form of a person, creature, etc, as in art and literature

3. a person or thing that personifies

4. a person or thing regarded as an embodiment of a quality

   he is the personification of optimism

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpersonification
  noun
• personificator
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• personifications
  plural

Etymology

Origin of personification

First recorded in 1745–55; personi(fy) + -fication

Explanation

Personification means "giving human qualities to an abstract idea," as in a movie villain who is the personification of evil. You can use the noun personification in two ways. In the first, a person who is known for a certain quality, like wisdom, is said to represent that quality in a way any can understand, like a patient, generous person who is the personification of kindness. On the other hand, personification can give human qualities to something that isn’t human. For example, you might say, “The sea is angry,” assigning it a human emotion.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

personification personifications

I write about my Papi as the puckish personification of immigrant America.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

The oleaginous Bruno becomes both personification and executor of Guy’s desires.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

His KC Tony Graham said Phoenix's family and friends were likely to regard Methven as the "personification of evil".

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2025

“To have that personification . . . and her house was such a tribute to that too . . .”

From Salon ● Mar. 29, 2025

Her sharp cheekbones and arched eyebrows make her look like the personification of high fashion.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

If the "Sex and the City" universe is a fantasia of materialist gloss tethered to reality by genuine truths, then the personifications of this idea should maintain a crumb of constancy.

From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2023

I think of these objects as personifications, as having the capacity to be storytellers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2022

Neither of the Haywoods feel quite like “real” people but rather like heightened personifications of artists hungry to become part of the movie-making business — no matter the cost.

From The Verge ● Jul. 21, 2022

In this version of the tale, Orfeo and Euridice become pawns in the hands of capricious godly and allegorical characters: Venus and Amore, Pluto and Proserpina and personifications of Jealousy and Suspicion.

From New York Times ● Nov. 11, 2021

They were the male and female personifications of the heavens.

From The Old Testament In the Light of The Historical Records and Legends of Assyria and Babylonia by Pinches, Theophilus Goldridge