Edify Meaning
/ˈɛdɪfaɪ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo build, construct.
verbTo instruct or improve morally or intellectually.
Sentence Examples
Good books can edify the mind as well as entertain it.
His speech was meant to edify, not to attack.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The professor always aimed to ____ his students through thoughtful discussion.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Good books can ____ the mind as well as entertain it.
Word Origin & History
From Old French edifier (“to build, to edify”), from Latin aedificare (“build”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"That Castle was most goodly edifyde, / And plaste for pleasure nigh that forrest syde […]"
— 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
"frustrate the best endeavours in the edifying of the church"
— 1641, Francis Bacon, A Wise and Moderate Discourse, Concerning Church-Affaires:
"That they ought to edify one another by maintaining and promoting the knowledge of truth."
— 1813, The Connecticut Evangelical Magazine, Vol. VI, page 455:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The professor always aimed to ____ his students through thoughtful discussion.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Good books can ____ the mind as well as entertain it.