incarnation

[ in-kahr-ney-shuhn ]

noun

1. an incarnate being or form.
2. a living being embodying a deity or spirit.
3. assumption of human form or nature.
4. the Incarnation, (sometimes lowercase) Theology. the doctrine that the second person of the Trinity assumed human form in the person of Jesus Christ and is completely both God and man.
5. a person or thing regarded as embodying or exhibiting some quality, idea, or the like:

   The leading dancer is the incarnation of grace.

6. the act of incarnating.
7. state of being incarnated.

incarnation

¹

/ ˌɪnkɑːˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. the act of manifesting or state of being manifested in bodily form, esp human form
2. a bodily form assumed by a god, etc
3. a person or thing that typifies or represents some quality, idea, etc

   the weasel is the incarnation of ferocity

Incarnation

²

/ ˌɪnkɑːˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. Christian theol the assuming of a human body by the Son of God
2. Christianity the presence of God on Earth in the person of Jesus

Incarnation

1. The Christian belief that the Son, the second person of the Trinity , was incarnated, or made flesh, in the person of Jesus , in order to save the world from original sin (see also original sin ).

Other Word Forms

• incar·nation·al adjective
• postin·car·nation adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of incarnation¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English incarnacion, from Late Latin incarnātiōn-, stem of incarnātiō; equivalent to incarnate + -ion

Example Sentences

The early twentieth-century Red Scare and its later incarnation in the McCarthy period provide other instances in which government officials tried to stop people from saying things or supporting causes of which they disapproved.

From Salon

For Amos, the muses have served her long and wisely, from her days as a feisty child prodigy through her latest incarnation of “postmenopausal” pop stardom.

From Salon

It will be the first time since 2003 the Kangaroos have travelled to play in an Ashes series - with the previous incarnation a contest between Australia and Great Britain.

From BBC

Piper, 42, starred alongside Christopher Eccleston for one series, which began on 26 March 2005, before Scottish actor David Tennant took on the mantle as the 10th incarnation of the Time Lord.

From BBC

This is still a media conglomerate property invested in cementing its heroes as incarnations of the American story and using its TV titles as bridges.

From Salon