What does personify mean?
Word: Personify
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Personify means to be a perfect example of a quality. In poems, it also means to describe an object or idea as if it were a human being.
Synonyms: represent
How do you spell personify?
Syllables: per - son - i - fy
Tricky part: The vowel before fy is i. Writers who hear only a weak sound there sometimes use a or e instead.
Watch out for: personafy, personefy
Memory tip: Line it up with beautify and simplify. Verbs of this family nearly always take i before the fy.
Personify in a sentence
Example 1: In her poem, Meera chose to personify the river as a patient old grandmother.
Example 2: For many fans, Sachin Tendulkar will always personify hard work and humility.
Example 3: Our school mascot, a cheerful owl, is meant to personify wisdom.
Fun Fact
Poets do this all the time. When a poem says the wind whispered or the sun smiled, it is giving human actions to things that have none, and the device is known as personification.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
One word in this sentence is misspelt. Find it:
In the final chapter of her fable, the author chose to persenify the mountain wind as a restless young messenger.
a) persenify
b) chapter
c) messenger
d) fable
Show answer
a) persenify. The syllable before the i carries an o here, just as in the word personal.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence and choose the word they make:
Many old fables rpeisfony animals such as the fox and the crow, giving them human thoughts.
a) personify
b) specify
c) notify
d) signify
Show answer
a) personify. Foxes that talk and think are being given human qualities, and the letters agree.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning.
1. eloquant 2. exuberent 3. personify 4. meticulus
a) full of lively energy and joy
b) speaking clearly and persuasively
c) to show a quality in its purest form
d) paying careful attention to every detail
Show answer
c) to show a quality in its purest form. The slips all sit at the ends of the words: eloquent takes ent, exuberant takes ant, and meticulous needs its o back.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word personify as used in the sentence:
Our grandmother's calm, gentle ways personify the patience she asks of us.
a) admire
b) forget
c) embody
d) imitate
Show answer
c) embody. A person who embodies a quality shows it fully in what they do.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which line from a poem gives a human action to an object?
a) The old clock sighed and closed its tired eyes.
b) The old clock was made of dark, polished wood.
c) The old clock struck twelve on New Year's Eve.
d) The old clock stood in a corner of the hall.
Show answer
a) The old clock sighed and closed its tired eyes.
2. If a student is said to personify kindness, that student ____
a) writes essays about kindness often
b) wonders what kindness really means
c) asks others to be kind to strangers
d) shows kindness in nearly everything
Show answer
d) shows kindness in nearly everything
