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reify

[ree-uh-fahy, rey-]
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verb (used with object), re·i·fied, re·i·fy·ing.
  1. to convert into or regard as a concrete thing: to reify a concept.
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Origin of reify

1850–55; < Latin rē(s) thing + -ify
Related formsre·i·fi·ca·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for reification

realization, personification, archetype, symbol, apotheosis, exemplar, epitome, expression, avatar, inclusion, comprehension, form, matter, substantiation, integration, type, incarnation, conformation, collection, embracement

Examples from the Web for reification

Historical Examples of reification

  • This happened simultaneously with the reification of many other forms of human praxis: religion, the judiciary, the military.

    The Civilization of Illiteracy

    Mihai Nadin

British Dictionary definitions for reification

reify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied
  1. (tr) to consider or make (an abstract idea or concept) real or concrete
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Derived Formsreification, nounreificatory, adjectivereifier, noun

Word Origin for reify

C19: from Latin rēs thing; compare deify
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for reification

n.

1846, "act of materializing," from Latin re-, stem of res "thing" + -fication. In Marxist jargon, translating German Verdinglichung.

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reify

v.

"make into a thing; make real or material; consider as a thing," 1854, back-formation from reification, or else from re-, stem of Latin res "thing, object, matter, affair, event, circumstance, condition," from PIE *re- "to bestow, endow" + -fy. Related: Reified; reifying.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper