personifying

Making something human

Personifying is treating something abstract or nonhuman as if it were a person.

When a poet describes death knocking at the door or the wind whispering secrets, they are personifying.

The technique gives human qualities—intentions, emotions, actions—to things that lack them: The storm raged, Justice is blind, My car refuses to start on cold mornings.

embodiment

incarnation

Quality given bodily presence

manifestationOutward display of something
embodimentConcrete manifestation of idea
avatarDigital user representation

representation · epitome · exemplar · symbol · icon · anthropomorphizing · humanizing · characterizing · animating · enlivening

literary

anthropomorphism

Attributing personality to things

allegorySymbolic tale with deeper meaning
metaphorImplied identity comparison
characterizationDescribing distinctive qualities

figurative · imagery · symbolism · pathetic fallacy · fable · animation · narrative voice · talking animals · poetic device · vivification

personifying

incarnation

anthropomorphism

personifying

Opposites

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