incarnation
noun
in·car·na·tion
ˌin-(ˌ)kär-ˈnā-shən 
1
: the act of incarnating : the state of being incarnate
2
: a particular physical form or state : version
in another incarnation he might be a first vice-president—
Walter Teller
Walter TellerTV and movie incarnations of the story
3
a
: a concrete or actual form of a quality or concept
especially
: a person showing a trait or typical character to a marked degree
she is the incarnation of goodness
b(1)
capitalized
: the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ
(2)
: the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form
Synonyms
Examples of incarnation in a Sentence
the doctrine of the Incarnation
she is the very incarnation of grace and tactfulness
Recent Examples on the Web
What might be more surprising is that its newest incarnation is a Broadway musical, which opened last Thursday.
—Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Apr. 2024
The organ practically announces Clementine’s previous incarnation, though its current usage is often distinctly different from its original purpose.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024
To solve that problem, and demonstrate his dissociation, the authors split Tommy into three coexisting incarnations.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Mitch McConnell, in the Senate, and the former Speakers Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan were all holdovers from previous incarnations of the G.O.P.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2024
Scheduled to run through Friday, the exercises are in their sixth incarnation since 2018, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
—Brad Lendon, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
Its themes are weighty too, framing the character as a fearsome incarnation of atomic death and destruction in a way that recalls Ishirō Honda’s original film.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2024
The site sat empty until 2001 when Fort Worth businessman Carl Bell rebuilt the stadium around the original base paths with a new incarnation of the Fort Worth Cats franchise.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2024
And at the center of it all was one video game narrative development company: Sweet Baby Inc.
This growing group of people want to believe themselves a new incarnation of Gamergate, a harassment campaign started in 2014 that targeted women speaking out against misogyny in the video games industry.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 18 Mar. 2024
Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Apr. 2024
The organ practically announces Clementine’s previous incarnation, though its current usage is often distinctly different from its original purpose.
—Tom Roland, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024
To solve that problem, and demonstrate his dissociation, the authors split Tommy into three coexisting incarnations.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024
Mitch McConnell, in the Senate, and the former Speakers Kevin McCarthy and Paul Ryan were all holdovers from previous incarnations of the G.O.P.
—David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2024
Scheduled to run through Friday, the exercises are in their sixth incarnation since 2018, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
—Brad Lendon, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024
Its themes are weighty too, framing the character as a fearsome incarnation of atomic death and destruction in a way that recalls Ishirō Honda’s original film.
—Katie Rife, EW.com, 28 Mar. 2024
The site sat empty until 2001 when Fort Worth businessman Carl Bell rebuilt the stadium around the original base paths with a new incarnation of the Fort Worth Cats franchise.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Mar. 2024
And at the center of it all was one video game narrative development company: Sweet Baby Inc.
This growing group of people want to believe themselves a new incarnation of Gamergate, a harassment campaign started in 2014 that targeted women speaking out against misogyny in the video games industry.
—Ash Parrish, The Verge, 18 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incarnation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near incarnation
Cite this Entry
“Incarnation.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incarnation. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
incarnation
noun
in·car·na·tion
ˌin-ˌkär-ˈnā-shən
1
: the appearance of a god or spirit in an earthly form
2
capitalized
: the union of divine and human natures in Jesus Christ
3
: an actual instance of a quality or concept
she was the incarnation of goodness
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