Word · CEFR C1 · Frequency #20253
personification
拟人；拟人化；人格化
The act of giving human qualities to an abstract idea or inanimate thing, especially as a literary device.
- 1.
A person, thing, or name typifying a certain quality or idea; an embodiment or exemplification.
体现某种品质或思想的人、物或名称；化身或例证。
- 2.
a person who represents an abstract quality
代表抽象品质的人
- 3.
An artistic representation of an abstract quality as a human.
将抽象品质具象化为人的艺术表现。
- 4.
representing an abstract quality or idea as a person or creature
将抽象品质或思想拟人化
- 5.
The process of creating such a representation: a literary device or other artistic method in which an inanimate object or an idea is given human qualities.
创造这种表现的过程:一种文学手法或其他艺术方法,将无生命物体或思想赋予人的品质。
- 6.
the act of attributing human characteristics to abstract ideas etc.
赋予抽象概念等人性特征的行为
化身；典型；体现；体现某种品质或思想的人、物或名称；化身或例证。；代表抽象品质的人；将抽象品质具象化为人的艺术表现。；将抽象品质或思想拟人化
In use
She is the personification of grace and elegance.
The poet uses the sun as a personification of life.
To many, the dictator was the personification of cruelty.
she is the personification of optimism
sb/sth be the personification of sth
表示某人或某物集中体现了某种抽象品质；of 后接抽象名词。
In Greek mythology, Athena is the personification of wisdom.
在希腊神话中，雅典娜是智慧的化身。
the personification of sth as sb/sth
as 后接拟人化后的具体形象，多用于文学或艺术评论。
The artist's personification of time as an old man is famous.
这位艺术家把时间拟人化为一位老人，这一手法很有名。
Connections
Collocations
- the personification of evil
- 邪恶的化身
- The villain in the story is the personification of evil.故事中的反派是邪恶的化身。
- use personification
- 运用拟人手法
- The writer uses personification to describe the wind.作者运用拟人手法来描写风。
- personification in literature
- 文学中的拟人手法
- Personification in literature gives human qualities to objects or ideas.文学中的拟人手法将人的特质赋予物体或思想。
Idioms & figurative uses
- the personification of [quality]
- ……的化身；……的典型代表She is often described as the personification of elegance.她常被形容为优雅的化身。
- the very personification of [quality]
- ……的最佳化身；……的活典型To the children, their grandfather was the very personification of wisdom.
Learner notes
Memory Tip
词里藏着person（人），把事物写得像人就是拟人化；化身可记作‘某种品质的活人代表’。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：日常表达、文学与修辞分析 该词有两种相关用法：一指“化身/典型”，通常用于日常表达和一般书面语；二指“拟人”修辞手法，比较常见于文学分析或修辞讨论。整体语域偏中性，具体语境随所指含义不同而有所变化，建议先看搭配判断。
Pronunciation & Spelling
这些词都以重读的 /-keɪʃən/ 结尾，与 personification 押韵。注意 personification 开头的 'personi-' 读作 /pɝˌsɑnə-/，而单独的 person 读作 /ˈpɝːsən/；另外，-ation 结尾不一定都读 /keɪʃən/，如 nation /ˈneɪʃən/。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, OCTANOVE, WIKTIONARY.