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Reify vs Embody - What's the difference?

reify | embody |

In transitive terms the difference between reify and embody

is that reify is to regard something abstract as if it were a concrete material thing while embody is to include or represent, especially as part of a cohesive whole.

reify

English

Verb

(en-verb)
  • to regard something abstract as if it were a concrete material thing

    • Synonyms

    * conceptualize, concretize, objectify, picture, thingify

    Related terms

    * reification

    See also

    * personify

    Anagrams

    * *

    embody

    English

    Verb

    (en-verb)
  • To represent in a physical form; to incarnate or personify
    • As the car salesman approached, wearing a plaid suit and slicked-back hair, he seemed to embody sleaze.
  • * South
    • The soul, while it is embodied , can no more be divided from sin.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 7, author=Matt Bai, title=Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, work=New York Times citation
    • , passage=The generational shift Mr. Obama once embodied is, in fact, well under way, but it will not change Washington as quickly — or as harmoniously — as a lot of voters once hoped.}}
  • To include or represent, especially as part of a cohesive whole
    • The US Constitution aimed to embody the ideals of diverse groups of people, from Puritans to Deists.
    The principle was recognized by some of the early Greek philosophers who embodied it in their systems.

    Derived terms

    * disembody * embodiment