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Definition of personify - 3 dictionary results

per⋅son⋅i⋅fy

[per-son-uh-fahy]
–verb (used with object), -fied, -fy⋅ing.
1. to attribute human nature or character to (an inanimate object or an abstraction), as in speech or writing.
2. to represent (a thing or abstraction) in the form of a person, as in art.
3. to embody (a quality, idea, etc.) in a real person or a concrete thing.
4. to be an embodiment or incarnation of; typify: He personifies the ruthless ambition of some executives.
5. to personate.

Origin:
1720–30; person + -ify; cf. F personnifier, It personificare


per⋅son⋅i⋅fi⋅a⋅ble, adjective
per⋅son⋅i⋅fi⋅ant, adjective
per⋅son⋅i⋅fi⋅er, noun


4. represent, exemplify, incorporate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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per·son·i·fy   (pər-sŏn'ə-fī')   
tr.v.   per·son·i·fied, per·son·i·fy·ing, per·son·i·fies
  1. To think of or represent (an inanimate object or abstraction) as having personality or the qualities, thoughts, or movements of a living being: "To make history or psychology alive I personify it" (Anaïs Nin).

  2. To represent (an object or abstraction) by a human figure.

  3. To represent (an abstract quality or idea): This character personifies evil.

  4. To be the embodiment or perfect example of: "Stalin now personified bolshevism in the eyes of the world" (A.J.P. Taylor).


[French personnifier, from personne, person, from Old French persone; see person.]
per·son'i·fi'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

personify 
1727 "to attribute personal form to things or abstractions" (especially as an artistic or literary technique), from Fr. personnifier (17c.), as if from L. *personificare, from persona (see person) + -ficare "to make." Personification in the sense of "embodiment of a quality in a person" is attested from 1807.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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