incarnate

[ adjective in-kahr-nit, -neyt; verb in-kahr-neyt ]
See synonyms for incarnate on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. embodied in flesh; given a bodily, especially a human, form: a devil incarnate.

  2. personified or typified, as a quality or idea: chivalry incarnate.

  1. flesh-colored or crimson.

verb (used with object),in·car·nat·ed, in·car·nat·ing.
  1. to put into or represent in a concrete form, as an idea: The building incarnates the architect's latest theories.

  2. to be the embodiment or type of: Her latest book incarnates the literature of our day.

  1. to embody in flesh; invest with a bodily, especially a human, form: a man who incarnated wisdom and compassion.

Origin of incarnate

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; late Middle English, from Late Latin incarnātus, past participle of incarnāre “to make into flesh,” equivalent to in- “in” + carn- “flesh” + -ātus past participle suffix; see in-2, carnal, -ate1

Other words from incarnate

  • non·in·car·nate, adjective
  • non·in·car·nat·ed, adjective
  • un·in·car·nate, adjective
  • un·in·car·nat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use incarnate in a sentence

  • In such a test the Christian myth, for example, would be valued for its power of incarnating human desire.

    A Preface to Politics | Walter Lippmann
  • But his soul goes marching on and his mistakes are still re-incarnating here on earth.

    Happiness and Marriage | Elizabeth (Jones) Towne
  • They taught that this "Awen" had animated the lower forms of life, mineral, vegetable and animal, before incarnating as man.

    Reincarnation and the Law of Karma | William Walker Atkinson
  • With her idealism, she was always incarnating in some individual the perfections that she was constantly imagining.

  • He confesses that he is unable to compose without incarnating himself in his creations so thoroughly as to lose his own identity.

    Sylvie: souvenirs du Valois | Grard de Nerval

British Dictionary definitions for incarnate

incarnate

adjective(ɪnˈkɑːnɪt, -neɪt) (usually immediately postpositive)
  1. possessing bodily form, esp the human form: a devil incarnate

  2. personified or typified: stupidity incarnate

  1. (esp of plant parts) flesh-coloured or pink

verb(ɪnˈkɑːneɪt) (tr)
  1. to give a bodily or concrete form to

  2. to be representative or typical of

Origin of incarnate

1
C14: from Late Latin incarnāre to make flesh, from Latin in- ² + carō flesh

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012