exemplify

verb ex·em·pli·fy \ ig-ˈzem-plə-ˌfī \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of exemplify

exemplified; exemplifying

transitive verb

1 : to show or illustrate by example

anecdotes exemplifying those virtues

2 : to make an attested copy or transcript of (a document) under seal

3 a : to be an instance of or serve as an example : embody

she exemplifies the qualities of a good leader

b : to be typical of

a dish that exemplifies French cuisine

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See exemplify defined for kids

Examples of exemplify in a Sentence

His works exemplify the taste of the period.
The city's economic growth is exemplified by the many new buildings that are currently under construction.

Recent Examples of exemplify from the Web

Fox News’s uneasy existence — pushing up to the edges of the conversation, and in so doing opening itself to real criticism — is exemplified by Laura Ingraham, who returned to her show The Ingraham Angle after a week of hiatus Monday night.

— daniel d'addario, Time, "Laura Ingraham Is Fox News's Problem, and Its Way Forward," 10 Apr. 2018
Trump’s new economic advisor Lawrence Kudlow exemplifies this shift.

— jeet heer, The New Republic, "You’re Either With Trump on Trade, or Against Him," 5 Apr. 2018
The best of Australia's cricketing culture is best exemplified by the late, great Keith Miller, widely regarded as Australia's greatest all-rounder.

— nick compton, CNN, "How to solve cricket's ball-tampering problem?," 30 Mar. 2018
Ky-Mani's commitment to improving conditions for the youth of Falmouth is exemplified by his funding of a community soccer (or football as the sport is called in Jamaica and in much of the world) team, Falmouth United Football Club.

— patricia meschino, Billboard, "Ky-Mani Marley Debuts 'Best Thing' Video, Discusses Falmouth Youth Program: Exclusive," 20 Mar. 2018
Corruption scandals and piles of rubbish in the streets of Rome under mayor Virginia Raggi have damaged M5S. Austria’s new government also exemplifies the second sort of populist-mainstream accommodation: copying the populists’ ideas.

— The Economist, "Dancing with dangerEurope’s populists are waltzing into the mainstream," 3 Feb. 2018
The Expedition and the longer Expedition Max have the cutting-edge tech, towing capacity, and buslike people space that exemplify this competitive class of mega-haulers.

— eric stafford, Car and Driver Blog, "2018 Ford Expedition In-Depth Review: The Luxury-Liner Game Remains Unchanged," 29 Mar. 2018
The novel, by Ian McEwan, was published in 1987, a period of generalized paranoia about child abductions, exemplified by missing kids on milk cartons.

— john anderson, WSJ, "‘The Child in Time’ Review: The Trauma of the Missing," 29 Mar. 2018
The philo-Semitic tradition in the Labour Party, exemplified by Harold Wilson and James Callaghan, is dying.

— The Economist, "Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-Semitism problem," 28 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exemplify.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.