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Webster 1913 Edition


Embody

Em-bod′y

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Embodied
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Embodying
.]
To form into a body; to invest with a body; to collect into a body, a united mass, or a whole; to incorporate;
as, to
embody
one’s ideas in a treatise
.
[Written also
imbody
.]
Devils
embodied
and disembodied.
Sir W. Scott.
The soul, while it is
embodied
, can no more be divided from sin.
South.

Em-bod′y

,
Verb.
I.
To unite in a body, a mass, or a collection; to coalesce.
[Written also
imbody
.]
Firmly to
embody
against this court party.
Burke.

Webster 1828 Edition


Embody

EMBOD'Y

,
Verb.
T.
[en,in, and body.] To form or collect into a body or united mass; to collect into a whole; to incorporate; to concentrate; as, to embody troops; to embody detached sentiments.

Definition 2024


embody

embody

English

Verb

embody (third-person singular simple present embodies, present participle embodying, simple past and past participle embodied)

  1. (transitive) To represent in a physical 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:
      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 include or represent, especially as part of a cohesive whole
    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.

Derived terms

Translations