personify Hear it!

personify Definition

per·soni·fy (pər sän′ə fī′)

transitive verb -·fied′, -·fy′·ing

  1. to think or speak of (a thing) as having life or personality; represent as a person to personify a ship by referring to it as “she”
  2. to symbolize (an abstract idea) by a human figure, as in art
  3. to be a symbol or perfect example of (some quality, thing, or idea); typify; embody

Etymology: Fr personifier: see person & -fy

personify Related Forms

per·son′i·fi′er noun

personify Synonyms

personify

v.

  1. To impersonate

    represent, live as, act out; see imitate 2, impersonate.

  2. To embody

    substantiate, contain, materialize; see complete 1.

  3. To represent

    copy, symbolize, exemplify; see represent 3.

personify Usage Examples

Object

  • spirit: Golden Wonder Trophy Awarded to the competitor who best personifies the spirit of the event.
  • power: He is the agent of God's work, or personified power of God, not his rival.
  • idea: What matters the name of the symbol that personifies the abstract idea, if that idea is always the same and is true?
  • evil: Darth Maul, the enemy of the Force is evil personified ( red face and horns give the game away!
  • death: The stranger, who is Death personified, gives the woman three chances to rescue her dead lover.
  • force: Other people of the biblical world understood deity in mythological terms; the gods were the personified forces of nature.

Subject

  • figure: Art and beauty are personified by graceful female figures on panel three to the left of the main entrance.
  • ram: The ASA found that the statement " This is a ram's world " emphasized that Young's drinkers were personified by the ram.

Preposition: as

  • woman: Since Greek and Roman times Prudence has been personified as a woman holding a serpent and a mirror.
  • goddess: Shakti is the power of the divine, personified as a goddess.

Adjective complement

evil: There is no doubt in my view Mugabe personifies evil.

Modifying Another Word

  • often: He would continue to battle evil, often personified in the form of Dr. Zero.
  • here: But in Proverbs chapter 8 verse 27, it's talking about wisdom, wisdom personified here.
  • also: The same group also personified one aspect of the success of the Welfare State.
  • not: To all those writers, as to Paul, Christ was the personal ( not personified ) and incarnate Wisdom of God.
  • now: Serendipity, once a concept, is now personified ( in the actress of Salma Hayek ), and joins the quest.
  • only: A clever writer in a contemporary reproaches her as only personifying the " haggard queen.

Used with why or when

what: Here was a tribe and a moment in time that personified what is best about poetry - raw, straight forward revelation.

Preposition: in

form: He would continue to battle evil, often personified in the form of Dr. Zero.

Preposition: by

figure: Art and beauty are personified by graceful female figures on panel three to the left of the main entrance.