typify
/ˈtɪpɪfʌɪ
/verb (typifies, typifying, typified) [with object]
1Be characteristic or a representative example of: tough, low-lying vegetation typifies this arctic area...
- I also think that Packer is right: blogs are indeed ‘atomized, fragmentary, and of the instant’ and those are characteristics that typify successful media of our time.
- The first example typifies Spuddy's attitude to the system.
- We consider the following seven characteristics as typifying the complex behavior of PTP.
Synonyms
epitomize, exemplify, be representative of, represent, be characteristic of, characterize;
personify, embody, be the embodiment of, be the incarnation of
rare instantiate, incarnate
2Represent; symbolize: the sun typified the Greeks, and the moon the Persians...
- This symbolic geography, of course, typifies the upper division course in any discipline, where the field of study is the central topic.
- What can you and the people you typify or represent do, in terms of leadership?
- You've actually got a slight majority opposing it and this really typifies why the public stands on these priorities, Kyra.
Synonyms
symbolize, be symbolic of, represent, stand for, be emblematic of
rare emblematize
Derivatives
typification
- It is unclear which countries are meant, or whether any concrete examples actually fit this typification.
- In so doing he offers a well-documented example of the common phenomenon of people developing shared ad hoc typifications that they use to order the raw material for their work in a way that allows them to get on with the job.
- Sociologist Joel Best describes a process of typification, whereby an often extreme example of crime is used to define a more general perceived problem.
typifier
- The police are described as typifiers of Skid Row deviants.
- Hill is not merely deemed to be a bad writer here, but has become a typifier of bad writing.
- How can you and other ‘supposed’ typifiers use such a horrible statement to describe a GAME of all things!
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Latin typus (see type) + -fy.