embody

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   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.

2. 2
   verb

   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.

3. 3
   verb

   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.

4. 4
   verb

   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.

5. 5
   verb

   represent, as of a character on stage

6. 6
   verb

   represent in bodily form

7. 7
   verb

   represent or express something abstract in tangible form

Etymology

From Latin em- + body.