incarnate
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incarnate¹
- /ɪnˈkɑːɹ.nɪt/ US
- /ɪnˈkɑːɹ.neɪt/ US
- /ɪnˈkɑːneɪt/ UK
- /ɪnˈkɑːnət/ UK
Where it comes from
First attested in 1395, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English incarnat(e) (“(of God or Christ) embodied in human form or flesh, incarnate; provided with new tissues, healed; (with devel, in curses) bloody”), borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin incarnātus, perfect passive participle of incarnor (“to be made flesh, become incarnate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from in- + Latin carō (“flesh”, carn- in its oblique stem) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, in- + Latin carn- + -ate.
adjective
- Embodied in flesh; given a bodily, especially a human, form; personified. Here shalt thou sit incarnate.
- Flesh-colored; crimson. Yards of Turkey silk incarnate.
incarnate²
- /ɪnˈkɑːɹ.nɪt/ US
- /ɪnˈkɑːɹ.neɪt/ US
- /ˈɪnkɑːneɪt/ UK
- /ɪnˈkɑːneɪt/ UK
Where it comes from
First attested in 1533; borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin incarnātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
verb incarnates · incarnating · incarnated
- To embody in flesh; to invest with a bodily, especially a human, form. For one thing, we virtually decided that these morbidities and the hellish Himalayan Mi-Go were one and the same order of incarnated nightmare.
- To gain full existence (bodily or otherwise). SCP-3125 incarnated the following winter.
- To incarn; to become covered with flesh; to heal over. My uncle Toby’s wound was near well, and as soon as the surgeon recovered his surprize, and could get leave to say as much—he told him, 'twas just beginning to incarnate.
- To make carnal; to reduce the spiritual nature of. This essence to incarnate and imbrute, / That to the height of deity aspired.
- To put into or represent in a concrete form, as an idea. Truly, that special world presented itself to me as the arena of my perceptual activity and therefore as the world of my first reading. The texts, the words, the letters of that context were incarnated in a series of things, objects, and signs.
incarnate³
adjective
- Not in the flesh; spiritual. I fear nothing […] that devil carnate or incarnate can fairly do.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: embody, corporeal, material, corporal, bodied, corporate, body forth, embodied, devil, exemplify, epitomize, represent, materialize, personify, typify, express
Translations
Every language
adj given a bodily form
| Español | encarnado |
|---|---|
| Français | incarné |
| Deutsch | fleischgeworden, inkarnat |
| Ελληνικά | ενσαρκωμένος ensarkoménos, ενσώματος ensómatos |
| Русский | во плоти́ vo plotí, воплощённый voploščónnyj |
verb to embody in flesh
| Español | encarnar |
|---|---|
| Português | encarnar |
| Ελληνικά | ενσαρκώνω ensarkóno |
| Русский | воплоща́ть voploščátʹ, воплоти́ть voplotítʹ, олицетворя́ть olicetvorjátʹ, олицетвори́ть olicetvorítʹ |
verb to represent in a concrete form
| Español | encarnar |
|---|---|
| Português | encarnar |
| Italiano | concretizzare, materializzare |
| Ελληνικά | προσωποποιώ prosopopoió |
| Русский | осуществля́ть osuščestvljátʹ, осуществи́ть osuščestvítʹ |
Talk about this word "incarnate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/incarnate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. incarnate. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/incarnate "incarnate." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/incarnate.Cite this
@misc{incarnate_2026,
title = {incarnate},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/incarnate},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
