embody

English

Etymology

em- +‎ body

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɒdi

Verb

embody (third-person singular simple present embod, present participle ies, simple past and past participle embodied)

1. (transitive) To represent in a physical or concrete form; to incarnate or personify.

   As the car salesman approached, wearing a plaid suit and slicked-back hair, he seemed to embody sleaze.

   • South

     The soul, while it is embodied, can no more be divided from sin.

   • 2012 November 7, Matt Bai, “Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     The generational shift Mr. Obama once embodied is, in fact, well under way, but it will not change Washington as quickly — or as harmoniously — as a lot of voters once hoped.

2. (transitive) To represent in some other form such as a code of laws.

   The US Constitution aimed to embody the ideals of diverse groups of people, from Puritans to Deists.

   The principle was recognized by some of the early Greek philosophers who embodied it in their systems.

3. (transitive) To comprise or include as part of a cohesive whole; to be made up of.
   • 1962, Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office (page 1261)

     For use in a nursery for cradling a baby to sleep, a baby cradler comprising, in combination, a stand embodying a mobile base, uprights attached to and rising perpendicularly from the base and having axially aligned bearings, […]

4. (intransitive) To unite in a body or mass.
   • 1794, Robert Southey, Wat Tyler:

     Nay, my good friend—the people will remain
     Embodied peaceably, till Parliament
     Confirm the royal charter: tell your king so:
     We will await the Charter’s confirmation,
     Meanwhile comporting ourselves orderly
     As peaceful citizens, not risen in tumult,
     But to redress their evils.

Synonyms

• (represent in physical form): actualize, concretize, effigiate, materialize, objectify, realize, reify, thingify
• (include or represent): embrace, encompass, enfold
• (unite in a body or mass): fuse, integrate, merge; see also Thesaurus:coalesce

Derived terms

• disembody
• embodiment

Translations

represent in a physical form; to incarnate or personify

• Bulgarian: въплъщавам (bg) (vǎplǎštavam), олицетворявам (bg) (olicetvorjavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 體現／体现 (zh) (tǐxiàn), 体现 (zh) (tǐxiàn), 表現／表现 (zh) (biǎoxiàn), 表现 (zh) (biǎoxiàn), 表達／表达 (zh) (biǎodá), 表达 (zh) (biǎodá)

• Czech: ztělesňovat
• Danish: legemliggøre, personificere, udtrykke
• Dutch: belichamen (nl)
• Esperanto: enkorpigi
• Finnish: ilmentää (fi), olla jonkin ruumiillistuma
• French: incarner (fr), personnifier (fr)
• German: verkörpern (de)
• Greek: ενσαρκώνω (el) (ensarkóno)
• Hungarian: megtestesít (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Manx: cochorpaghey
• Maori: whakatinana
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kroppsliggjøre

• Polish: wcielić się (pl) pf, ucieleśniać się impf
• Portuguese: incorporar (pt), encarnar (pt), personificar (pt)
• Russian: воплоща́ть (ru) impf (voploščátʹ), воплоти́ть (ru) pf (voplotítʹ), олицетворя́ть (ru) impf (olicetvorjátʹ), олицетвори́ть (ru) pf (olicetvorítʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian: utjeloviti (sh)
• Spanish: personificar (es), encarnar (es)
• Swedish: förkroppsliga

include or represent, especially as part of a cohesive whole

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 體現／体现 (zh) (tǐxiàn), 体现 (zh) (tǐxiàn), 表現／表现 (zh) (biǎoxiàn), 表现 (zh) (biǎoxiàn), 表達／表达 (zh) (biǎodá), 表达 (zh) (biǎodá)

• Czech: zahrnout (cs)
• Danish: indeholde (da), rumme
• Dutch: belichamen (nl)
• Finnish: käsittää (fi), sisältää (fi), ilmentää (fi)
• French: représenter (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: verkörpern (de)
• Greek: συσσωματώνω (el) (syssomatóno), ενσωματώνω (el) (ensomatóno)
• Manx: cochorpaghey
• Russian: олицетворя́ть (ru) impf (olicetvorjátʹ)
• Spanish: incorporar (es)

Anagrams

• boydem