personify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to attribute human nature or character to (an inanimate object or an abstraction), as in speech or writing.
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to represent (a thing or abstraction) in the form of a person, as in art.
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to embody (a quality, idea, etc.) in a real person or a concrete thing.
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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
- personifiable adjective
- personifiant adjective
- personifier noun
- unpersonifying adjective
Etymology
Origin of personify
First recorded in 1720–30; person + -ify; compare French personnifier, Italian personificare
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.
A good story requires characters, and Mr. Kukushkin personifies atoms, chemicals, even entire biological kingdoms, using whimsical drama to illustrate fundamental principles of biochemistry.
He had been solidity personified since the start of the year, and unquestionably the leading McLaren driver to that point of the season.
From BBC
Germany this time is personified by a defendant: Hermann Göring, head of the Luftwaffe and second only to the Führer in the military command.
Garfield is goodness personified; we meet him on his farm, cooking breakfast for the family, planing wood to make a picnic table.
From Los Angeles Times
In other words, he personified the scale of the issue and the depth and breadth of the anger provoked by it – and yet he was let out of prison by accident.
From BBC
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.
