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reify

verb

re·​ify ˈrā-ə-ˌfī
ˈrē-
reified; reifying

transitive verb

: to consider or represent (something abstract) as a material or concrete thing : to give definite content and form to (a concept or idea)
… a culture can be reified into a body of traditions …
M. J. Herskovits
 
 

Did you know?

Reify is a word that attempts to provide a bridge between what is abstract and what is real. Fittingly, it derives from a word that is an ancestor to real—the Latin noun res, meaning "thing."

Both reify and the related noun reification first appeared in English in the mid-19th century. Each word combines the Latin res with an English suffix (-fy and -fication, respectively) that is derived from the Latin -ficare, meaning "to make."

In general use, the words refer to the act of considering or presenting an abstract idea in real or material terms, or of judging something by a concrete example.
 

Examples of reify in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a temptation in video game movie adaptations to reify every object, imbue every symbol with weight, and rely on the mere act of recognition to carry the viewer’s attention.

WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023

Out of a desire to help oppressed groups, that is, grew an ideology that ultimately reifies identity and rejects the possibility of cross-group solidarity.

Samuel Clowes Huneke, The New Republic, 26 Oct. 2023

This dynamic was reified in the band’s own music, both in their voices — Gordon’s breathy and mysterious, Moore’s flat and sneering — and in their song material.

 Vulture, 20 Oct. 2023 See More
 

Word History

Etymology

Latin res thing — more at real

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined above

 
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