epitome

[ ih-pit-uh-mee ]

noun

1. a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class:

   He is the epitome of goodness.

   Synonyms: typification, quintessence, model, exemplification, embodiment

2. a condensed account, especially of a literary work; abstract.

epitome

/ ɪˈpɪtəmɪ; ˌɛpɪˈtɒmɪkəl /

noun

1. a typical example of a characteristic or class; embodiment; personification

   he is the epitome of sloth

2. a summary of a written work; abstract

Derived Forms

• epitomical, adjective

Other Words From

• ep·i·tom·i·cal [ep-i-, tom, -i-k, uh, l], epi·tomic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of epitome¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin epitomē “abridgment,” from Greek epitomḗ “abridgment, surface incision,” equivalent to epi- + -tome

Word History and Origins

Origin of epitome¹

C16: via Latin from Greek epitomē, from epitemnein to abridge, from epi- + temnein to cut

Example Sentences

Maurice “Rocket” Richard was the best hockey player on the planet then — the epitome of a goal scorer8 — but he was also a bit of a cheap-shot artist.

From FiveThirtyEight

Then there’s Elizabeth — who is chocolate brown and described as “the epitome of decorum and grace.”

From Washington Post

Bezos has become a subject of public fascination and, on the left, public ire as an epitome of America’s billionaire class, especially since rising to the No.

From Vox

The resume of Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo is the epitome of a winding NFL kicking career.

From FiveThirtyEight

The house meal, then, is the epitome of comfort food —not in the broad sense, but when and how it actually matters.

From Eater

It was the epitome of Kim Kardashian, and a fitting summation of the Year of Butt.

From The Daily Beast

He really is the epitome of the cliché “women want him and men want to be him.”

From The Daily Beast

All in all, Bates strikes me as a good upstanding Englishman—the epitome of stiff-upper-lip resolve and restraint.

From The Daily Beast

Tanny came to be known as the epitome of a Balanchine dancer, with her long legs and graceful, fluid lines.

From The Daily Beast

They are the epitome of old-school rationality and refinement—or at least they were until now.

From The Daily Beast

To this end they spread a distorted epitome of his favourite views, amongst their retainers.

From Project Gutenberg

We have given an epitome of the development of the submarine vessel up to the opening of the twentieth century.

From Project Gutenberg

Chaucer refers us to Aleyn's description on account of its unmerciful length; it was hopeless to attempt even an epitome of it.

From Project Gutenberg

Your average woman shopping is the epitome of irresolution, or so it seems to the man.

From Project Gutenberg

The Epitome of Gemistus Pletho, referred to above, is of great value, and held in the highest estimation by all editors.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• apotheosis
• embodiment
• essence
• exemplar
• personification