avatar

noun

av·a·tar ˈa-və-ˌtär

plural avatars

Synonyms of avatar next

: an electronic image (as in a video game) that represents and may be manipulated by a computer user

The average Fortnite player spends hundreds of hours in the game with a personal avatar, fighting with and interacting with the avatars of other players.—

Brian X. Chen

compare non-player character, npc

: the incarnation of a Hindu deity (such as Vishnu)

: an incarnation in human form

: an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person

… his series hero is about as pure an avatar of freedom as you will find in modern fiction …—

Sam Leith

: a variant phase or version of a continuing basic entity

the latest avatar of the conservative movement

Did you know?

Avatar derives from a Sanskrit word meaning "descent," and when it first appeared in English in the late 18th century, it referred to the descent of a deity to the earth—typically, the incarnation in earthly form of Vishnu or another Hindu deity. It later came to refer to any incarnation in human form, and then to any embodiment (such as that of a concept or philosophy), whether or not in the form of a person. In the age of technology, avatar has developed another sense—it can now be used for the image that a person chooses as his or her "embodiment" in an electronic medium.

Examples of avatar in a Sentence

She has come to be regarded as an avatar of charity and concern for the poor. She chose a penguin as her personal avatar in the chat room.

Recent Examples on the Web Roy Tillman’s specific brand of malevolence seems perfectly in tune with the Mad Men star’s gift for playing macho avatars of a bygone era who are confused and angered by change. —

Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2023 But the lumpen, jolie-laide Cabbage Patch Kids, who descended from Appalachian folk-art communities, were unlikely avatars of this new era of grasping Reaganite consumerism. —

Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023 In her first viral video, Kristen unearthed a guy's identity from a cartoon avatar and a pair of glasses. —

Fox News, 30 Oct. 2023 Any woman who owned her story and dared to occupy a public figure avatar in Pakistan, even if online, was hated and silenced. —

Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 6 Nov. 2023 This might take the form of the ghost in the machine, whether an avatar unleashed from its human counterpart or an app with a mind of its own. —

Ellen Akins, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2023 Its dating-app-style layout and smiling, customizable avatars pedal the illusion that something human is behind the screen. —

WIRED, 18 Oct. 2023 An algorithm used a recording of Mrs. Johnson speaking at her wedding so that the avatar mimics her voice from before the paralysis. —

Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Oct. 2023 During his onstage presentation Wednesday, Zuckerberg played a Dungeons and Dragons–like role-playing game with the virtual Snoop Dogg character, and showed off more than a dozen other lifelike avatars based on celebrities including Tom Brady, Paris Hilton, and YouTube personality MrBeast. —

Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'avatar.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.