personify
Americanverb (used with object)
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personifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
personified,
past participle, past
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personifying
present participle
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to attribute human nature or character to (an inanimate object or an abstraction), as in speech or writing.
-
to represent (a thing or abstraction) in the form of a person, as in art.
-
to embody (a quality, idea, etc.) in a real person or a concrete thing.
-
to be an embodiment or incarnation of; typify.
He personifies the ruthless ambition of some executives.
The vicar's wife was grace and beauty personified.
- Synonyms:
- incorporate, exemplify, represent
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to personate.
verb
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to attribute human characteristics to (a thing or abstraction)
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to represent (an abstract quality) in human or animal form
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(of a person or thing) to represent (an abstract quality), as in art or literature
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to be the embodiment of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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personifysimple
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personifiessimple
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have personifiedperfect
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has personifiedperfect
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am personifyingprogressive
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are personifyingprogressive
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is personifyingprogressive
-
have been personifyingperfect progressive
-
has been personifyingperfect progressive
Past
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personifiedsimple
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had personifiedperfect
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was personifyingprogressive
-
were personifyingprogressive
-
had been personifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of personify
First recorded in 1720–30; person + -ify; compare French personnifier, Italian personificare
Explanation
To personify is to give something lifeless human-like qualities — like when Emily Dickinson wrote, "Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me..." You can also use the verb personify to show one person embodying another, like an actor attempting to personify Abraham Lincoln in a play about the former president. A person can also personify a value or emotion, as when the founder of a charitable organization is said to personify generosity and selflessness. When you add the suffix -ify (meaning "to make") to a noun, you "verbify" that noun. So personify means "to make into a person."
Vocabulary lists containing personify
Power Suffix: -fy
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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:
Or do these émigrés personify a loss of faith in America’s future and way of life?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026
For most of his life, the Rev. Dr. Norman Kansfield seemed to personify the Reformed Church in America.
From New York Times ● Apr. 30, 2024
Finding equivalent candidates who can personify outrage about the Middle East with the longevity, potency and profile of Mr Galloway will be very difficult indeed.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2024
Some early depictions show voladores dressed as birds, perhaps to personify gods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
To a greater or lesser degree, most members of the reporting team performed similar feats of tedious investigation before finding characters who would personify the statistical trends.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
While Herman’s house is large by most standards, it personifies that same lack of ostentation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
A good story requires characters, and Mr. Kukushkin personifies atoms, chemicals, even entire biological kingdoms, using whimsical drama to illustrate fundamental principles of biochemistry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2025
In his maqāma, Ibn al-Wardi personifies the plague as a mischievous wanderer who brings death to one region after another over a 15-year journey.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 11, 2025
“The shadow personifies everything that the subject refuses to acknowledge about himself,” Jung wrote.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2025
Siva, personifies destruction or reproduction, for Hindu philosophy excludes, while time shall exist, the idea of complete annihilation: to destroy is, therefore, but to change, or recreate, or reproduce.
From Phallic Miscellanies Facts and Phases of Ancient and Modern Sex Worship, as Illustrated Chiefly in the Religions of India by Hargrave Jennings
Hammond is ebullience and warmth personified but her co-presenter, the erstwhile Mighty Boosh comedian Fielding, still looks a bit lost, as if he has wandered in from the wrong set.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Through her, Maddy personified a new kind of Latina baddie — one who defied constraints, and carried herself with a confidence that asked the rest of the world to meet her on her terms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
“Unfortunately, but predictably, it was at the expense of signaling that Lululemon was no longer the leading, premium, cool brand initially personified by its muse.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
He personified America as the empire of “hope”—a favorite Jackson word.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 17, 2026
For us Ultima personified goodness, and any risk in defense of goodness was right.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
There’s an obvious objection to all this: It sounds as if we’re naively personifying a giant math problem, mistaking statistical patterns for sentience—falling for the oldest anthropomorphic error in the book.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 25, 2025
Directed by artistic director Mathew Wright, the solo performance features Alcalá personifying four nurses and a respiratory therapist, using their words, verbatim, about working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2023
One banner commemorating the Bill of Rights borrows from Christmas language to proclaim, “Joy to the world — the Bill of Rights is born,” elevating and personifying the document that grants Americans consequential freedoms.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 15, 2022
On the other side of town is another, equally imposing statue personifying the Italian stonemasons who also brought their skills to Barre.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 16, 2022
The wonderful personifying power of the early imagination can hardly be better illustrated than by the deification of the soma juice.
From Myth, Ritual And Religion, Vol. 2 (of 2) by Andrew Lang
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