personification

CEFRC1

/pɚˌsɑ.nə.fəˈkeɪ.ʃən/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A person or thing that represents a quality or idea.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    An artistic representation of an abstract quality as a human.

Examples

  • Copernicus turned from a person into a personification.

  • He is the personification of selfishness.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
2

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The process of creating such a representation: a literary device or other artistic method in which an inanimate object or an idea is given human qualities.

  2. A person, thing, or name typifying a certain quality or idea; an embodiment or exemplification.

More examples

In context

  • Adolf Hitler was the personification of anti-Semitism.

  • The Grim Reaper is a personification of death.

  • You might search in vain if you go looking for personification in his works: his style was very concrete.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

In the poem, the blank of death as a friendly man reduces fear.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From person(ify) + -ification.