What does personified mean?
Personified describes something that has been given the qualities of a person, especially when an abstract idea, natural phenomenon, object, or divine being is represented with human emotions, actions, or personality. Writers and artists often use this technique to make ideas vivid and memorable: a storm may seem angry, a nation may be imagined as a single body, or a corporation may be portrayed as a person. The related verb personify means to attribute human characteristics to something, while personification names the broader device or practice. In religious and mythological contexts, a personified deity or spirit can be a genuine being represented in human form rather than merely a literary device. The word is commonly used in discussions of literature, art, rhetoric, branding, and symbolic imagery.
Endowed with human qualities or represented in human form.
"The sculpture depicts a personified figure representing freedom."
Often used for an abstract concept, deity, force, or object that is deliberately shown with human characteristics.
To treat or represent something nonhuman or abstract as if it were a person.
"The author personifies winter as a stern and silent visitor."
The past tense and past participle are both personified.
Personification gives the abstract a human face: even a storm can frown, whisper, or show mercy.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does personified come from?
The word comes from personify, which was formed in English from the Latin persona, meaning “mask,” “character,” or “person,” together with the suffix -fy, meaning “to make” or “to turn into.” Personify entered English during the early modern period, and personified developed as its past tense and participial form. The same Latin root appears in related English words such as personal, personality, and personification.
Related word forms
How personified is actually used
The term is used primarily in literary, artistic, rhetorical, and religious contexts. It can describe an intentional device or a quality attributed to a representation.
Easily confused with personified
Personification is the literary or artistic device of giving human qualities to something nonhuman, while personified is the adjective or participle describing that treatment.