Library / English Dictionary

EMBODY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: embodied   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Represent, as of a character on stage

Example:

Derek Jacobi was Hamlet

Synonyms:

be; embody; personify

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "embody" is one way to...):

represent; stand for; symbolise; symbolize; typify (express indirectly by an image, form, or model; be a symbol)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "embody"):

body; personify (invest with or as with a body; give body to)

exemplify; represent (be characteristic of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Represent in bodily form

Example:

The painting substantiates the feelings of the artist

Synonyms:

body forth; embody; incarnate; substantiate

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "embody" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

embodiment (giving concrete form to an abstract concept)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Represent or express something abstract in tangible form

Example:

This painting embodies the feelings of the Romantic period

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "embody" is one way to...):

represent (serve as a means of expressing something)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

embodiment (a concrete representation of an otherwise nebulous concept)

Credits