What does reifying mean?
Reifying means making an abstract idea, category, quality, or emotion seem concrete, real, or directly perceptible. The word is often used in literary criticism, philosophy, social science, and design commentary: a writer might say that a character reifies the destructive power of guilt, while an analyst might argue that a policy reifies an abstract ideal as a set of rigid administrative rules. Because reification frequently entails treating a construction as though it possesses an independent reality, it can have a critical tone. In less technical contexts, it simply means embodying or giving a concrete form to something intangible. Its usefulness lies in identifying a process by which the abstract becomes tangible, whether through language, art, institutions, or everyday thought. The related noun reification names that process itself and is widely used in discussions of abstraction, commodification, and social categories.
verbTo make an abstract concept, quality, or idea concrete or to treat it as a real entity rather than an abstraction.
- To make an abstract concept concrete or represent it as a real entity.
"The novel reifies the fear of strangers through its descriptions of an increasingly isolated neighbourhood."
"The designer reified the brand's abstract values in a building of glass and steel."
"Critics argued that the advertisement reifies an ideal of beauty rather than depicting a real person."
Reifying turns what exists only in the mind into something the mind can handle as a person, place, or thing.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of reifying
Reifying comes from reify, formed in the 19th century from the Latin re-, meaning 'again' or 'back', and facere, meaning 'to make', with the combining form -fy. The verb developed from the idea of making a thing real and is related to reification. Its more distant relatives include reality, realistic, and realize, all of which ultimately derive from Latin realis, meaning 'kingly' or 'actual', from res, meaning 'thing'.
Related word forms
How reifying is actually used
Relatively formal and especially common in academic, philosophical, and critical discussion. It can be neutral when describing artistic representation, but often carries a critical implication that something intangible is being treated as concrete.
Easily confused with reifying
To realize an idea usually means to understand or conceive it clearly, whereas to reify it means to make it concrete or treat it as a real entity.