embody

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
14
Words With Friends
15
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/ɪmˈbɒdi/
See all 4 pronunciations
/ɪmˈbɒdi/ · /ɪmˈbɑdi/ · [ɪmˈbɑɾi] · /ɪmˈbɔdi/

Definition of embody

4 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

verb

  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.”
    “The soul, while it is embodied, can no more be divided from sin.”
    “Francesca shook her head as she answered, "Ah! expectations are such unreasonable things! It was impossible for even France to realise the dreams of youth and solitude! What ever embodies our idea of perfection?"”
    “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.”
See all 4 definitions

verb

  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.”
    “The soul, while it is embodied, can no more be divided from sin.”
    “Francesca shook her head as she answered, "Ah! expectations are such unreasonable things! It was impossible for even France to realise the dreams of youth and solitude! What ever embodies our idea of perfection?"”
    “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.
    “A shunting locomotive embodying an unusual form of power transmission has been developed for the National Coal Board.”
    “With the exception of the Great Eastern Line, these embody the most complete systematisation of steam or diesel-operated main line services that has yet taken place in the country.”
    “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.
    “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.”
    “So when inclement winters vex the plain / With piercing frosts, or thick-descending rain, / To warmer seas the cranes embodied fly, / With noise, and order, through the midway sky;”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From Latin em- + body.

Anagrams of embody

2 plays · some not in Scrabble

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